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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23415577">Social Distance</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstroLatte/pseuds/AstroLatte'>AstroLatte</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Allura and Lance are friendly exs, Also Adam is here, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Bisexual Disaster Lance (Voltron), But also they're bad at being friends, First Kiss, Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, M/M, Now With Pictures!, Oh my god they were quarantined, Past Allura/Lance (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Post S7/Pre S8, Post-Canon Fix-It, Sharing a Room, best friends Lance and Keith, emojis!, no beta we die like men, the space mice are here but i still hate them</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 08:48:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>19,058</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23415577</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstroLatte/pseuds/AstroLatte</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When the officer drops his key in Lance's hand, he spots a big red number seven on the side. He turns to Hunk hopefully but is disappointed when he's shown a green three on his card. </p><p>Allura cranes her neck to call Keith, who's staring at his key like it personally offended him. "Keith? What is the number on your card?"</p><p>"Seven," he replies, lifting his card for everyone to see. Lance's heart sinks to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>After returning to Earth, the Galaxy Garrison forces Team Voltron to quarantine, and Lance shares a room with Keith.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Acxa/Veronica (Voltron), Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Allura &amp; Lance (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1207</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Green Sock Reality, Just some pretty nice fics</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Part One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this as a twitter thread and figured I'd shape it up into a nice two-shot. </p><p>Part One takes place in the middle of S7 in an AU where everything is the same but Team Voltron got to Earth before Sendak.<br/>Part Two takes place right after S8 in an AU where everything is the same but Lotor and Allura don't die.</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lance couldn't say he was surprised when they're met on Earth with a crowd of hazmat suits instead of a parade. </p><p>Similar to the scene when Shiro crash-landed, the Galaxy Garrison wasn't exactly thrilled when their presumed-dead Kerberos pilot, the kid they kicked out for disciplinary issues, and the cadet squad best known for getting vomit in the simulator all showed up together after three years MIA in five mechanic lions, with an alien princess, a colony deserter and an old man with a funky mustache. </p><p>At least this time nobody was strapped to a stretcher, and Keith only <em> threatened </em> to punch the medics when they spooked Kosmo enough for the wolf to teleport out of sight. Some people (like Veronica) would call this an "interstellar fiasco," but Lance thinks it's growth.</p><p>While Sam Holt had done what he could to prepare Earth for the inevitable Galra invasion, it appears that they had landed home right before Sendak could send any troops. It's a relief, but in large part due to a surprise upgrade from Voltron that allowed Lance and Keith to sync somehow to create booster wings. They were able to cut a year of space travel to less than a varga. It's the fastest they've ever traveled aside from the teleduv. </p><p>It's cool and amazing, but Lance can't shake the feeling that nearly overwhelmed him once he slammed his bayard into the console. It was the closest he's ever felt to another person mentally. </p><p>Frankly, it kind of freaked him out.</p><p>When the Garrison officers return to their group, they wordlessly lead them through a plastic archway to an annex's building. The hallway reminds Lance of the outdoor playgrounds from his childhood. </p><p>He spots Veronica and Colleen Holt through the cellophane haze, both looking on worriedly from the outside world. Lance glances over at Pidge and wonders if she's missing her mother's embrace as much as he's missing one from his sister. He catches the way Pidge wraps her arms around herself tightly and he ruffles her hair affectionately.</p><p>She doesn't fight him off.</p><p>When they're finally inside the building, they're each given room numbers and keycards. The officer explains to each of them that they'll be in a two-week-long quarantine to ensure they haven't brought any intergalactic germs with them during space travel. Outside, their lions are each being sprayed and cleaned by a pit-crew.</p><p>When the officer drops his key in Lance's hand, he spots a big red number seven on the side. He turns to Hunk hopefully but is disappointed when he's shown a green three on his card. </p><p>"Sorry, man," Hunk explains, thumbing behind him. "I'm rooming with Shiro and Coran."</p><p>"And it seems Pidge, Romelle, and I will be sharing a suite as well," Allura adds, flashing her card. She cranes her neck to call Keith, who's staring at his key like it personally offended him. "Keith? What is the number on your card?"</p><p>"Seven," he replies, lifting his card for everyone to see. Lance's heart sinks to the floor. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>If they had to social distance themselves for two weeks, the room they're assigned to isn't half bad. It's more like a hotel suite than a dorm room, with a stocked mini-kitchen, TV, sofa, board games, and even an old Mercury Gameflux with a copy of <em> Killbot Phantasm VII</em>. There are two full beds across from each other and a spacious bathroom that includes a shower and tub. </p><p>All things considered, it definitely could be worse even though Lance didn't exactly luck out in the roommate department.</p><p>"Which bed do you want?" Keith asks, but he's so curt that it sounds more like a demand than anything. Lance shrugs. </p><p>"I don't have a preference. They look identical."</p><p>Keith makes a noise in response - because apparently, words are too much for him. He throws his bag of Garrison issued sweats on the bed to the right. Lance follows with the bed on the left. It's a little awkward as they both try to change out of their armor while avoiding the other. When they're both left in only their grey bodysuits, Lance breaks for the bathroom before Keith shows any skin.</p><p>"I'm taking a shower!" Lance shouts, nearly leaping over Keith's bed to slide across the tiles and slamming the door shut.</p><p>He doesn't hear Keith say anything through the door, but he does hear a thud of clothes hitting the floor and the rustling of Keith shoving his suit into the strange plastic bag they're supposed to send for cleaning. Turning to the shower faucet, he's hit with a wave of homesickness when he recognizes the lettering on the valves. Fighting back the tears, he twists it and is rewarded with hot water raining from the showerhead. </p><p>Nearly ripping off his under armor, he climbs under the stream. The hot water instantly begins to work out on the sore knots and kinks in his neck and back. Covering his mouth to keep from sobbing, he leans back against the tile wall and slowly slides down the side of the shower. He cries harder than he can remember, the water pummeling against his face and washing away the snot he's sure is dripping from his nose.</p><p>Lance knows he's an ugly crier.</p><p>There's a quick knock at the door, and Lance gasps when he hears Keith crack the door open enough to let the steam escape.</p><p>"Hey, are you okay in here?" </p><p>Lance swallows hard, not exactly sure how to answer. </p><p>Since Keith has returned to the team, it's felt that the friendship they had been building had eroded instantly. Keith was different, he was older. He was their leader. It was as if just when Lance thought they were on an even footing, Keith somehow leaped-frogged over him again, leaving him in the dust. Now things are awkward because Lance doesn't know how to deal with this new, improved Keith.</p><p>And it sucks.</p><p>Because in the weeks that followed him first piloting Red, Lance slowly began considering Keith to be one of his closest friends. During their stint as co-leads of Voltron, they had spent hours chatting between their rooms about the team, strategy to take down Zarkon's forces or just to shoot the breeze. Somehow, Keith had wormed himself from being Lance's oldest rival to his newest best friend. </p><p>Then Keith left.</p><p>"I'm fine," he lies, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. "Just hit my foot when I got in."</p><p>Keith hesitates, and Lance knows he doesn't buy it, but hopes he doesn't push it. Luckily, Keith just sighs. "Be careful."</p><p>"Okay, team leader."</p><p>He can see through the steam of water Keith's hesitation, but he eventually closes the door. </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Lance honestly doesn't know how else to interact with Keith other than some friendly ribbing. </p><p>He'll sit across the sofa and yell, "Social distancing!" at the other boy, but Keith will just glare from over his book and curl to the other end of the couch like a distressed cat. </p><p>Sometimes Lance will just talk out loud to himself in hopes that Keith will respond to <em> anything </em>he's saying.</p><p>"Wow, they loaded the fridge with vegan eggs," Lance says one morning to no-one in particular, but absolutely at Keith in particular. "What a crazy act of scientific advancement had to occur for there to be vegan eggs, huh?"</p><p>Keith doesn't reply and instead eats his cereal and fills out a sudoku book. It's so zen it makes Lance want to riot.</p><p>Keith is surprisingly quiet, and Lance <em> hates </em> quiet.</p><p>All their communicators and space phones were confiscated the moment they landed. Therefore Lance's only option for social connection to either learn telepathy or break in his uncommunicative roommate.</p><p>Four days in, Lance breaks. He makes them dinner (they've been unknowingly rotating daily) and almost throws his plate of rigatoni bolognese at Keith. </p><p>"Are you mad at me?" he demands, waving a fork in Keith's face like a threat.</p><p>And Keith has the nerve to blink as if he's confused as to why Lance is so pissed. "Uh...no?"</p><p>"Then why don't you ever talk to me, you weirdo?" Lance throws his arms in the air. "I've been babbling to myself for days!"</p><p>"I thought you liked doing that," Keith argues, and it hits Lance that Keith's nose still scrunches up when he's annoyed. It's like a throwback, and it heals an old wound in his chest like a balm.</p><p>"Why would I like doing that?"</p><p>"You seemed to have a good conversation with yourself," Keith fights, and it feels so familar that the interaction is enough to fuel him for the rest of the day. "I didn't want to interrupt."</p><p>"You should've interrupted me! I was rambling like a mad man!"</p><p>"I didn't have anything to say!"</p><p>And Lance huffs, because how can Keith have <em> nothing </em> to say. They're stuck in quarantine after being in space for three years. Not to mention his time away from the team to play space ninja pirate - there's plenty to say!</p><p>Keith must've caught on to how annoyed Lance is because he clears his throat. He stabs at more pasta with his fork, twirling it in the sauce. "Do you want me to say something?"</p><p>"Yes!" Lance whines, throwing his head back on the chair across the table. "I feel like I've been walking on eggshells because you've looked so pissy since we go here."</p><p>Keith stops mid-bite, fork still in the air, and says between a mouthful of pasta. "Sorry, that's just my face."</p><p>And something about this confession takes Lance by surprise. It's just so ridiculous - they're stuck in this room together, and Keith, with his mouth full of food, manages to apologize for his resting bitch face. </p><p>Lance can't help it. He starts to giggle, and soon Keith follows.</p><p>They're laughing hysterically now, and it's the kind of laugh that they both know isn't funny, but because neither of them can stop, it's somehow funnier. </p><p>They've eventually forced the other to stop, and aside from a few snorts, they both relax until Keith blurts, "I missed you."</p><p>Lance feels something tighten in his chest, and instead of answering right away, he clears his throat and goes back to his pasta. "Yeah, well, I'm here with you now."</p><p>A less tense silence falls between them, and Lance watches Keith twirls his fork in his food. </p><p>"You're no Hunk in the kitchen, but this is better than food goo," he says, and Lance knows they're getting somewhere.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>They talk more after that and start to live together as opposed to sharing the space. They're stuck there for two weeks and accidentally create a routine together. They wake the other up, one of them makes breakfast, the other puts away dishes.</p><p>They hang out and Lance learns that Keith is surprisingly terrible at video games. He instantly dies at <em> Killbot Phantasm </em> after the first dungeon. Keith gets stupid competitive, and it cracks Lance up. They still beat the game together.</p><p>Keith tells Lance about the space whale while they're cutting veggies together for dinner. Lance is instantly interested in the future-visions Keith saw in the Quantum Abyss.</p><p>"Did you see anything cool?" he asks, halfway through chopping a carrot. "Like do any of us get a medal after saving the universe? Oh! Does Shiro ever dye his hair?" He gasps, hands flying to his face. "Do I grow a <em> mustache</em>?"</p><p>Keith turns away and dumps a handful of veggies into the pot. "Can't remember."</p><p>"Wow, that's dumb," Lance huffs, turning back to finish chopping. "If I had a future vision, I'd remember <em>everything</em>."</p><p>They play board games, cards, and one night they're tossing a ball across each other's bed  — the first to drop it loses. Conversations flow smoothly between them now, and Lance is thankful for the lack of awkwardness in their interactions. Lance asks Keith questions, and he's always earnest in his responses. Lance ends up learning a lot of things he didn't know about his teammate.</p><p>"So, you just adopted a space wolf you found in the wild?" Lance asks, tossing the ball. </p><p>Keith catches and shrugs. "It's not that weird all things considered, Lance."</p><p>"He teleports," Lance insists when Keith tosses the ball back. He catches it quickly.</p><p>"We've been piloting mechanical lions with our minds," Keith notes when the ball lands back in his palms.</p><p>"Okay, that's fair."</p><p>"I meant to ask," Keith motions to toss the handball back to Lance. "When we were coming home, and the bayard booster flashed, did you feel something in Red?"</p><p>The handball arcs across the gulf between their beds, landing perfectly in Lance's hands. "I felt the usual pull when we got a power-up, yeah. Why? What did you feel?"</p><p>Lance tosses the ball back, and Keith catches it. He holds tightly between his palms for a moment.</p><p>"This pull was different. It was like I was lost in a tunnel, but there was light. The light felt safe, secure, stable," Keith looks up from staring at the ball. "Then the light was...you."</p><p>Lance's breath catches in his throat. "I thought it was just me."</p><p>"No, me too," Keith smiles, and it's shy. Lance sees the slight crookedness of his teeth. The snaggle of his canines. Why didn't Keith smile more? It's a good one.</p><p>"I didn't think it was gonna be wings," Lance confesses, chuckling. "Maybe, like, rocket boosters. But the wings were a surprise."</p><p>Keith doesn't say anything else. He just tosses the ball back to Lance, and now he finds himself smiling too.</p><p>Somehow, Lance catches the ball one-handed. "I'm happy you're on the other end of that tunnel. I missed you too."</p><p>When he throws the ball back, Keith looks so stunned he doesn't even move to catch it. Instead, it smashes him between the eyes with a hard smacking of rubber meeting skin. Lance panics and leaps across from his mattress to Keith's to check to see if he's alright.</p><p>Keith groans, rubbing his face, and Lance pulls his hands away to make sure he didn't break Keith's nose with the handball.</p><p>"You were supposed to catch it!" Lance whines, more annoyed than upset now that it's clear the most damage Keith will get is a bump on the head. He doesn't let go of Keith's hands.</p><p>"You caught me off guard!"</p><p>"Don't you have Galra reflexes or something?"</p><p>"Did you really miss me?"</p><p>Lance feels himself get anxious again - which is weird cause it's just Keith. The guy's so dense not even a handball could break his thick skull. But still, it's complicated.</p><p>"Well, yeah. You were my left-hand man," he says, hoping the joke can ease the tension. Keith just frowns.</p><p>"But, you got to be the Red Paladin."</p><p>"Shiro didn't see me like that," Lance stops to think. "Well, Clone Shiro, I guess. Anyway, you know he leans on Allura way more than any of us. After you left, I was in the same spot I was when I piloted Blue. I just had your lion."</p><p>"Red is <em> your </em> lion," Keith urges. "He chose you."</p><p>"I get that but," Lance laughs nervously, feeling self-conscious at how worked up Keith was getting. "You gotta admit, you did kind of up and leave us. Red probably felt that you went out for cigarettes and didn't come back."</p><p>Keith pulls his hands away. "It wasn't like that."</p><p>It's getting awkward again, and Lance doesn't know what to do. They've spent days together peacefully and just when Lance feels like they were on the same level again, he steps on a landmine and blows it all up.</p><p>"Well, it felt like that," Lance admits, more sad than bitter now. "To me, at least."</p><p>They sit on Keith's bed on opposite ends, neither knowing what else to say. Lance picks at the fuzz sticking to Keith's comforter, watching as Keith looks elsewhere.</p><p>Finally, he asks the question that's been nagging him since Keith left the team.</p><p>"Was it me?"</p><p>Keith gazes at him, and Lance continues. "Did I make you leave?"</p><p>"You didn't make me do anything," Keith replies, and Lance can hear the sincerity in his tone as vulnerability reverberates. Even after all Keith's been through, he still has that shaky voice when he's scared. It makes Lance feel guilty. "It was my choice."</p><p>"Why did you have to make a choice?"</p><p>"I couldn't lead the team after Shiro came back. There were too many of us."</p><p>"Shiro was ready to stand aside," Lance fights. "I was ready to stand aside! I told you I'd give you and Allura my lions!"</p><p>"Do you think I wanted that?"</p><p>"Do <em> you </em> think I wanted you to leave?"</p><p>Keith scowls. "I wasn't going to make you choose."</p><p>"You didn't stay long enough to give me a chance!" Lance grits his teeth, clenching the blankets. "Would you have stayed if I asked?"</p><p>Keith looks away again. His dark eyes fixed downward on his hands. As if the answers Lance is so desperate for can be found on the lines of his palms. "Allura asked me to stay."</p><p>"Allura?" Lance echoes, eyes narrowing challengingly. His heart began to jackhammer against his chest, threatening to break through and flop between them on the bed. The notion that the girl he's been crushing on had sought Keith out and begged him to stay on their team held an emotional gut-punch. He feels the familiar warmth of jealousy coat his bones like molten lava. "What did she say?"</p><p>"That there were places I was needed more than the Blade of Marmora," he replies, looking up to meet his gaze almost reluctantly, a serious look about him. "That there were people who needed me more."</p><p>"People like…" Lance begins, trying to get Keith to finish the sentence. At this point, he can't keep up with precisely where these feelings of jealousy are springing for — he knows Keith's gay. Allura isn't an option for him, and yet the atmosphere is hot enough to melt him whole.</p><p>"The team," Keith finishes plainly. </p><p>"Oh."</p><p>A heavy silence washes over them until Keith's head jerks up.</p><p>"I didn't realize it wasn't really Shiro," he admits, and Lance sees the look of realization when it hits him. "Maybe if I had stayed longer... I would have..." Keith stammers, looking back down at his hands. "I could've..."</p><p>"Oh, no...Keith," Lance says, placing a hand on his shoulder when he squeezes his eyes shut. "You couldn't have known."</p><p>"I would've eventually."</p><p>"Did you want to know?"</p><p>Keith exhales. "...no. I wanted him back too much. I lost my brother once, the idea of losing him again — of him not being <em> real </em> — it would've broken me."</p><p>The guilt and regret radiate from Keith like a fume. Scooting over, Lance breaks the rules of social distancing and hugs him. It's a weird position — you're not supposed to hug someone from the side, and Keith's shoulders are broader now — but Lance has the wing-span to make it work.</p><p>Keith freezes, going tense with recognition. He pauses, searching Lance's expression as if trying to find a cue as to what he was supposed to say next. Lance knows how much Keith struggles to find words to express himself. Eventually, he thaws and melts into Lance's side. "I didn't leave because of you, but I should've stayed for you."</p><p>Lance glances up at him, their eyes locking for a split second. Keith definitely looks apprehensive, but there was still <em> something else </em>there, dark and intrigue. Lance can again feel the lingering embers of jealousy burning hot in the pit of his stomach right alongside the guilt.</p><p>"I'm just one guy," he tries to laugh off humorlessly, tuffs of Keith's stupid hair wisping by his mouth. "It was selfish of me to think I was the only reason you'd want to leave the team."</p><p>Keith turns, so they're facing each other. "I wanted you to keep Red." </p><p>His eyes seem to soften with the confession, the slightest trace of guilt still lingering there. Lance blinks steadily back at him, trying to hold in whatever emotion threatens to spill out from him. He can't tell if it's sadness, anger, or what. "I know."</p><p>"I won't leave again."</p><p>"I know," Lance repeats. He can't help but look at Keith's lips. They're getting chapped. He should lend Keith his lip balm when they're no longer in quarantine. </p><p>"It felt good when you were still at the end of the tunnel waiting for me," Keith whispers, and Lance swears he sees him <em> lick </em> his lips. Probably why they're so chapped.</p><p>"It felt good when you came back to me," Lance breathes, and he's leaning down. He knows what he's doing, but his brain's stopped processing. Keith tilts his chin up, just enough for Lance to kiss him.</p><p>
  
</p><p>Unlike Keith, he's never kissed a boy before. He's not sure if he likes it yet, but it's certainly not terrible. Kissing Keith feels like falling, yet somehow he isn't terrified of the landing. Lance runs his thumb along the scar on Keith's cheek, surprised when it feels so soft.</p><p>Then Keith jerks away like Lance burned him. Lance quickly pulls back and considers Keith's startled face.</p><p>"This isn't supposed to go like this," Keith confesses in a breath.</p><p>Somehow this confuses Lance even more than the kiss. Did he misread the situation?</p><p>"Keith, what are you talking about?"</p><p>"This isn't what I saw —" then he stops himself, covering his mouth with his hands. As if he can physically wipe evidence of Lance's lips from his mouth. Keith looks absolutely baffled, and  — <em> Oh god </em>.</p><p>Lance definitely fucked this up. </p><p>Soaring backward off of the mattress entirely, he nearly crashes back against the end table between their beds in his sheer frenzy to escape. Lance laughs loud and high, and it sounds so forced it makes his throat hurt. "Wow, that was weird, huh?"</p><p>Keith just stares at him dumbly, like a deer caught in the headlights. Lance turns away, the thought of looking at Keith enough to make his chest threaten to collapse in on itself. His eyes land on the alarm clock sitting on the table.</p><p>"Is it that late already?" Lance continues his hysterical laughter, leaping to his bed and cutting the light. "Time for us to sleep!"</p><p>He ducks under the covers, digging himself underneath the sheets and burrowing against his bedding. The air is stuffy and it's hard to breathe. Lance feels the prickling of tears form in the corner of his eyes and wills them away with all his might.</p><p>Across the space, he hears Keith slowly shuffling and crawling under his blankets. Lance bites the end of his comforter to keep from saying anything else and ruining this even further.</p><p>Lance thinks of Allura, and his stomach swoops with another wave of guilt. </p><p>He should've known better than to get himself caught up in the moment. Of course Keith would freak out, Lance <em> kissed him. </em> He doesn't even know why he did it  — Lance doesn't like boys, and he definitely doesn't like Keith. </p><p>A few moments of silence later, he hears Keith whisper, "Night, Lance."</p><p>Lance doesn't reply. Closing his eyes tight, he tries to keep himself from crying.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The next day is their last day in quarantine. </p><p>Lance wakes up when Keith does, and they go back to their usual routine. Keith cracks the weird vegan eggs on the skillet and pours juice into Lance's glass as if nothing happened.</p><p>It's probably better this way, Lance decides. The night before felt like an emotional escape room.</p><p>Iverson and the Holts come in covered in personal protective equipment, and test their temperatures, have them spit in a tube, and finally sticks something uncomfortably far up Lance's nose. Quickly, some handheld machine Iverson is holding tells them they're fine and are free to leave. </p><p>They pack their bags quietly across the room. Lance fights hard to keep from sneaking glances at Keith through his fringe.</p><p>"Hey."</p><p>Lance looks up to see Keith holding the handball from the night before. His heart sinks, dreading the moment when Keith will ask what's up with him. </p><p>
  <em> Why did he kiss him?  </em>
</p><p>And Lance isn't emotionally ready to go there.</p><p>Luckily, he just gently tosses the handball back to Lance. He catches it.</p><p>Keith smirks. "Nice catch, McClain."</p><p>Lance feels the tension leave his body like a wave. His shoulder sags from his ears. "What can I say? I got good reflexes."</p><p>"Yeah, I lost last night," Keith closes his duffle bag and taps the bump on his forehead, wincing. "So, what's my punishment?"</p><p>Lance zips up his bag and grins. "Well, I suppose it should be something that's entertaining for me at your expense."</p><p>They walk out together, and Lance throws his arm across Keith's shoulders. The moment they're out of the plastic hallway, Kosmo appears at their feet. Lance can't help but give the wolf a few affectionate scratches.</p><p>"We should ask the others if they want to go out into town," he announces, and Keith groans. It's not enough to get him to leave, even though he has a teleporting space wolf at his fingertips.</p><p>"I hate where this is going," he complains.</p><p>"You're gonna be my wingman, Wing Man."</p><p>"Yup, definitely hating it."</p><p>"C'mon ladies love a gay guy," Lance beams as they wander through the Garrison. "And if we go out with the team, maybe you can help me chat up with Allura."</p><p>Keith hesitates, and Lance sees something wash over his features again. It looks dark, like a confirmation of something. It's confusing, but Keith doesn't seem upset. If anything, a calmness washes over him. </p><p>Keith sighs, throwing his head back. "Yeah, sure. Not like you'd have any luck on your own, loverboy."</p><p>"Hey! I'm a catch!"</p><p>"Sure, you are."</p><p>"Keith!"</p><p>He grins. "I'm not kidding."</p><p>"Oh," Lance blushes.</p><p>Keith breaks away, patting Lance on the back good-naturedly. "Now c'mon, let's find the others and plan this grand night out. I'm ready for some fresh air."</p><p>Lance smiles, following Keith down the hallway. They fall into a familiar rhythm together, side-by-side.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Big thanks to artist <a href="https://twitter.com/_kiilea">Kinga</a> for the amazing illustration of klance!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Part Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"Keith?" he whispers, and Keith turns back around. Lance extends his hand across the gap between their beds. Keith glares over the sheets but takes hold of his hand anyway. Lance gives a gentle squeeze. "I think I'd say I love you too."</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Six months later, Lance can finally call himself a successful defender of the universe  — and it’s exhausting. Leaning against the window in the observatory deck of the IGF-ATLAS, he cannot remember another time in his life when he was so physically and emotionally spent.</p><p>It’s surprising that it only took the crew three months to chase Honerva across the galaxy, learn the imbalance of quintessence was making the universe unstable, and fix the fabric of reality itself. If that wasn’t enough, during this mission, Lance managed to date Allura finally, break up with Allura, help Allura save Lotor from the rift, helped Lotor defeat his evil mother, and all while balancing one big question that’s been weighing on his mind since launch day.</p><p>“Lance?” </p><p>He turns around and spots Keith in the entryway. Lance’s heart stutters as it speeds up, beating against his ribcage.</p><p>It’s only been a few days since an emotional conversation with Shiro helped him finally see what was in front of him — that he wasn’t exclusively attracted to women. It seems silly to think about it now, in hindsight, especially considering gender didn’t exactly exist in the same regard in outer space as it did on Earth. Shiro had lent him a sympathetic ear, even making the point that being exposed to a new expanse of options could’ve helped Lance become more comfortable with parts of himself that otherwise had gone unnoticed. </p><p>Although, one glance at Keith is enough to remind him that he probably had an <em>inkling </em>to his bisexuality for far longer than he was ready to admit.</p><p>Smiling lazily, Lance waves from where he’s leaning against the glass. “Over here.”</p><p>Keith follows the sound of his voice, and soon Lance spots his red uniform, a bright contrast to the dark grays of the ship’s walls. “We’re getting ready to land.”</p><p>“I know,” Lance replies, and he can hear the weariness laced within his own voice. God, he was going to sleep for years once they got home. “I like watching us dock.”</p><p>The hum Keith makes doesn’t signal anything to Lance other than he probably heard him. When the other boy doesn’t move, Lance adjusts his stance, so he’s leaning against the side of the window, hands in the pockets of his uniform. It gives Keith enough room to take the opposite side, his arms crossed over his chest, and violet eyes rested on the view of Earth coming closer.</p><p>Lance has grown used to the quiet, especially from Keith. He knows him well enough by now that unlike anyone else, Keith doesn’t speak unless he has something to say and is working to stop keeping secrets. The quiet usually scares Lance, mostly because, in the past, it’s meant that he was alone with his thoughts.</p><p>Or, most recently, that he and his then-girlfriend didn’t have much to talk about when it wasn’t about saving the universe.</p><p>The announcement system triggers and over the PA system they hear Adam instructing the crew that the ATLAS was clear for a landing at the Galaxy Garrison complex.</p><p>In the corner of his eye, Lance spots Keith sneaking glances through the fringe of his dark hair. It sends a warmth to his heart that pumps directly into his veins. </p><p>He turns away, hoping the reflection of the scene before them is enough to hide the blush blooming across his cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Unlike the last time they landed on Earth, it appears the Garrison has a somewhat coherent system to ensure the ATLAS crew isn’t bringing back unknown viruses to Earth’s delicate ecosystem. Once docked, Shiro explains to the team that they’ll be led through the same containment hall from last time and assigned rooms for their mandatory two-week quarantine. </p><p>Adjusting his bag on his shoulder, Lance quickly finds Veronica in the crowd before they step off the landing ramp. Together they find their family standing on the other side of the plastic dome, excitedly holding signs and balloons to greet their return. Lance is so excited to see his mother he gets teary-eyed. </p><p>“Is that Allura?” he hears Rachel ask through the muffle of the cellophane. Before Lance has a chance to explain the change in their relationship to his twin quickly, Rachel calls out, “ALLURA! OVER HERE!”</p><p>Lance spins over his shoulder and spots Allura, her hair released from its usual bun and cascading over the shoulders of her pink uniform like a waterfall of starlight. Besides her, in a newly issued purple Garrison uniform, Lotor stands dumbstruck. Not that Lance can blame the guy — Earth can be a jarring place for someone who’s spent the last few decaphobes trapped in an interdimensional reality-rift and lived most of his life before that on battlecruisers. </p><p>When she notices the McClain clan, Allura cheerfully waves, saying something quickly to Lotor before jogging over to Lance’s family. She comes up next to Lance, and he can’t help but notice how bright she looks. He catches the glance Veronica exchanges with their mother through the plastic, and he knows it’s clear to her that Lance and Allura aren’t together anymore. Not that it changes the enthusiasm his family shares over Allura’s safe return and the new peaceful universe.</p><p>It takes one warning from a senior Garrison officer before Veronica quickly shuffles them along, promising their family that they’ll celebrate after the mandatory two-week quarantine period. Immediately, Allura is back at Lotor’s side like a magnet, almost giddy with excitement as they animatedly talk about the possibilities of this new singular reality. Lance tries not to take it too personally, but Veronica’s eagle eye isn’t fooled.</p><p>“I know it sucks right now,” she says, leaning to give him an awkward side-hug as they walk side-by-side. It’s been years since he’s been too tall for her to reach around his neck easily. “But you’ll both figure it out.”</p><p>“Thanks, Vero,” he sighs, leaning his head to rest on top of hers. “It was mutual, though.”</p><p>“Of course it was, Lancey Lance,” Veronica coos, patting the front of his uniform. Her tone is drenched in disbelief, and Lance can’t help but take offense. He’s about to argue the point when Acxa passes them, and Veronica instantly unlatches from his side. “I’ll meet up with you later, okay?”</p><p>He watches as his sister power-walks through the crowd, gaining Axca’s attention quickly. The look of infatuation that flashes across her face when she spots his sister is so sweet it’s almost sickening. Luckily, he’s distracted by Hunk, who pulls him into a video call with Shay. </p><p>The Garrison is ready to celebrate. There are crowds of adoring onlookers with noisemakers, confetti, and triumphant music floats through the air. As much as Lance loves a party, he’s so worn out that when they finally reach the end of the tunnel, he’s relieved to be greeted by officers in hazmat suits. Unlike last time, Lance doesn't care enough to complain about where he’s assigned. He simply snatches his room key and stumbles off. </p><p>As he navigates through the hall, he spots Shiro and Adam holding hands as they stroll toward their shared room. Lance dodges Pidge and the Holts, trying to get Baebae to follow N7 to their family suite. Of course, even this new universe has a wicked sense of humor, and he sees Allura so enraptured in conversation with Lotor, that she doesn’t notice Romelle tugging at her elbow to go to their assigned room.</p><p>Allura does manage to catch Lance’s staring and sends him a small smile and wave. It makes Lance's heart sting. He knows breaking up was the right thing to do, and he hasn't seen Allura this happy since...ever, really. Still, he can't help but be a little bit disappointed that he wasn't the person to do that for her.</p><p>Regardless, he waves back and even gives a head nod to Lotor. If they're all going to live in this new reality together, he wasn't going to be a dick about it. Besides, Lotor has been nothing but considerate of Lance’s feelings since they first brought him back onto the team. There was definitely <em>a lot </em>of weirdness in their situation, but if it meant that Allura was her happiest self, then that’s enough for him. </p><p>Eventually, Lance finds his room at the end of what feels like a never-ending corridor. The keycard clicks easily against the pad. The door flies open, and he's immediately met with Keith standing in the middle of the room in only a bath towel. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t for the fact that Keith’s ripped like the soccer players Lance spent way too much time “studying” during his cadet days.</p><p>Yeah, he's super bi.</p><p>“Woah!” Keith shouts, instantly tightening his grip on the towel to his waist, but relaxes when he sees it's only Lance. “Shut the door, you idiot!”</p><p>Lance laughs nervously, locking the door behind him. "We have got to stop meeting like this, man.”</p><p>“Leave it to you not to knock first.” Keith sighs, rolling his eyes and going back to tapping on his phone. "I'm guessing we're roommates again?"</p><p>"Don't act like you don't love it."</p><p>Keith huffs and tosses his phone on a bed already covered with his uniform. It hits Lance that a particular fluffy friend is missing from their living quarters.</p><p>“Where’s Kosmo?” he asks when Keith strolls past him to enter the bathroom. </p><p>“No clue,” Keith replies, shutting the door behind him with his foot. “He zipped off the second he saw the crowd. He’ll probably show up when this is over like last time.” </p><p>“You’re very chill for a dog dad,” Lance declares, throwing his bag on the unused bed and untying his boots. “No curfew, free rein to jump across time and space —  you better watch out, or one day he’s gonna bring home a little pink wolf he’s knocked up.”</p><p>He can already hear Keith grumbling through the door. “Is this going to be the next two weeks with you?”</p><p>"Aw come on, Keith! You don't need social distancing from me. We're quarantine buddies!"</p><p>He hears the sound of the shower starting as Keith yells, "Shut up, Lance."</p><p>Lance grins, feeling his spirits lift a bit. Razzing Keith always cheers him up.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Once they're both showered, Keith collapses on the sofa, and Lance follows. They're too tired to move, let alone cook. This time Lance spots they at least have cable in the room, only the channel is stuck on that terrible cartoon about Voltron. </p><p>Lance hasn’t seen the show, but based on what he’s heard from Hunk, it’s factually inaccurate and borderline incoherent. Aside from making Pidge sound like a gremlin that lives under a bridge, they killed off Shiro (even though he’s still very much alive) and Keith’s <em>straight </em>and Allura’s love interest.</p><p>Not even his cartoon self can catch a break.</p><p>"Keith, change the channel. This show sucks."</p><p>"I can't find the remote."</p><p>"Ugh!”</p><p>Against their better judgment, they eventually get sucked into it. The corniness of the jokes and bad voice acting is funny enough to keep the attention of their weary minds. Somehow, they managed to arrange themselves on opposite ends of the couch so that Lance rests his legs on Keith's lap, and Keith's foot settles behind him.</p><p>Mindlessly, Keith plays with the frayed edges of Lance's pajama pants. It doesn't bother Lance. He knows because he’s tired that there's some Galra version of stimming happening in Keith’s mind. He's seen it on the ATLAS when he couldn’t sleep and would visit Lance's room to hang out. He’d always pick up his fidget toys while they chatted, and accidentally take them when he left. Lance would bet 50 GAC that there are at least three of his fidget spinners in the cockpit of the Black Lion right now.</p><p>Then Keith's knuckle brushes against Lance's ankle, and it makes his whole body shiver. </p><p>Keith freezes. "Sorry."</p><p>Lance adjusts the pillow underneath his head, rolling his ankle to shake off the sensation and the goosebumps Keith leaves behind. "It's fine."</p><p>An awkward silence blooms between them until Keith bursts, "Do you shave your legs?</p><p>Lance can’t hide the grin that spreads across his face. "Yes.” </p><p>He hikes up the leg of his pants and sticks the limb in question right in Keith's face. It breaks their awkward body tangle, and Keith swats at him. "Get your nasty foot away from me!"</p><p>"Feel how smooth my leg is!"</p><p>“No!”</p><p>“Feel it!”</p><p>"This is the opposite of social distancing!"</p><p>"Shut up and touch my leg, Keith!"</p><p>He relents and feels up Lance's skin. And it sure is...<em> something</em>.</p><p>Keith's palms are rough, calloused, and scarred. Lance gets calluses too from his rifle, but he takes the time to moisturize to keep his skin as soft as possible. </p><p>Glancing up, Lance notices Keith's thick brows furrowing in concentration. He touches Lance's skin so gently like he's made of glass. As if he's something worthy of tender care. It causes Lance's face to heat up to his ears, burning hot. He watches in a paralyzed trance as Keith slowly feels him up until his hand is cupped securely around Lance's calf. It feels good to have his tender muscle cradled, and he fights back the satisfying noise that threatens to escape his lip when Keith squeezes. </p><p>Lance’s eyes flutter shut as the mental image of Keith rubbing his aching legs flashes in his mind. Before he could fantasize for long, Keith lightly slaps the fleshly shaven skin. </p><p>"It's soft,” he says simply before settling himself back into the cushions. His attention is quickly snagged by the colorful cartoon transformation sequence flashing from the television screen.</p><p>Lance can only nod dumbly and adjust himself on the sofa in hopes that Keith wouldn’t be able to tell if anything else on his body suddenly isn't as soft.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>In the following days, they fall into a comfortable routine. Lance and Keith cook together, hang out together, and join video calls with their co-quarantined friends together. Lance tries not to pay attention to how close they sit during the calls or how warm Keith's thigh is pressed up against him. He really does. </p><p>There’s a fluttering in his chest that’s triggered by Keith smiling too wide, and hints of his too-sharp-to-be-human canines peak out, so Lance thinks about sick puppies to stop it. When Keith lounges on the couch and his shirt rides up to expose the dark curls of his happy-trail, Lance mentally recites the rosary like he’s in confession. He even goes as far as finding elastic bands for Keith to pull his hair back, its soft shagginess too tempting. Nevertheless, Keith’s hotness persisted. </p><p>It doesn't take long for Lance to come to the undeniable conclusion that he's hardcore crushing on his quarantine roommate. </p><p>He panicky texts his group chat with Hunk and Pidge. Neither seems very surprised at the confession, and Pidge jokes, "Lance crushing on a teammate? Must be Tuesday."</p><p> </p><p><b>Lance</b>: 😭</p><p><b>Pidge</b>: 🤷</p><p><b>Lance</b>: 😡</p><p><b>Pidge</b>: 👎</p><p><b>Hunk</b>: ok stop lance is upset </p><p><b>Hunk</b>: he has a crush on a boy and needs our help</p><p><b>Pidge</b>: Ew no.</p><p><b>Pidge</b>: <em>*has left the chat*</em></p><p><b>Lance</b>: Rude!!!</p><p><b>Hunk</b>: she didn't even leave she just wrote *has left the chat*</p><p><b>Pidge</b>: Assume I'm gone.</p><p><b>Hunk</b>: fine wtv</p><p><b>Hunk: </b>lance are you sure its a crush and not just you guys cooped up together?</p><p> </p><p>Lance looks over at Keith. He's sitting at the kitchen counter reading a book. After turning a page, he yawns and scratches his nose. </p><p>It’s so cute Lance wants to punch him in the face.</p><p> </p><p><b>Lance</b>: yea its a crush</p><p><b>Hunk</b>: lol ok then</p><p><b>Hunk</b>: being into guys is new and i get it but you just got out of a kinda serious relationship with allura</p><p><b>Pidge</b>: 👆</p><p><b>Hunk</b>: and even if this crush is legit you dont want keith to feel that ur rebounding</p><p><b>Pidge</b>: 👆👆</p><p><b>Hunk</b>: maybe give it some time?</p><p><b>Pidge</b>: 👆👆👆!!!</p><p><b>Hunk</b>: pidge.</p><p><b>Pidge</b>: 🤷</p><p> </p><p>Lance sighs and looks up from his phone back to Keith. His heart does somersaults in his chest and there’s nothing Lance can think about that can stop it.</p><p>He knows Hunk is probably right about giving it time. He doesn’t want Keith to feel like a rebound, and it took a lot for their friendship to become this comfortable. It’s a lot to risk — and for what? Even if Keith is into him (which isn't a certainty), the best they’d hope for is a few romps in the quarantine hay before being cleared, and Keith shoots back up to space with Krolia. Strategically speaking, it wasn’t worth the trade-off.</p><p>Glancing at the calendar on his phone, they still had a whole week of mandatory quarantine. Could he hold it together for that long?</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Lance cannot hold it together.</p><p>If anything, Lance is very much falling apart.</p><p>He tries everything he can to avoid Keith in their room, but it's kind of hard to avoid someone when you're both stuck in what's basically a hotel suite.</p><p>What upsets Lance the most is when Keith starts to notice. Every time Lance rushes to finish his meals to avoid conversation, tunes him out with headphones, or takes too long in the shower, Keith gives Lance a gloomy glance that strikes him like he's slowly dying from a thousand cuts. </p><p>He hates saying no to Keith almost as much as he hates crushing on him.</p><p>When they last roomed together, Lance was willing to let Keith have his space until it became unbearable. Unfortunately, Keith does not have that type of patience. </p><p>Lance is brushing his teeth before bed when Keith storms into the bathroom like a bat out of hell. He slams the door behind him and locks it shut.</p><p>"Okay, so what the fuck is up with you?" he demands like Lance is a prisoner of war and not his befuddled roommate.</p><p>"Muth-finn," Lance tries to say between toothpaste and Keith rolls his eyes and hands him the cup of water to rinse.</p><p>"Spit," he orders, and Lance obeys. He doesn't remember when it became this easy to let Keith boss him around, but part of him kind of likes it. Keith hovers into Lance’s personal space, effectively pulling him from whatever weird train of thought his mind was going.</p><p>"Nothing's wrong," Lance sighs, turning around to lean against the sink to put some space between them. The bathroom was a decent size, but it was still cramped with the two of them together.</p><p>"Then why are you avoiding me?"</p><p>"I-I'm not avoiding you," Lance lies, trying to avoid Keith and break out of the bathroom. Keith blocks the door with a strong arm, his dark brows pinching together.</p><p>"I'm worried about you," he says.</p><p>"Is this what you do when you're worried about your friends? Ambush them in the bathroom?"</p><p>“I’m serious.” Keith insists, looking hesitant for all of a second before continuing in the most certain voice Lance has heard.  It’s heavy and earnest, full of a genuine, vulnerable emotion that’s uncharacteristic for Keith. “I thought we were past the bullshit. That we can talk to each other.” </p><p>"We're talking now.”</p><p>"No, we're fighting now."</p><p>"We always fight.</p><p>“We don't always fight. We haven't fought in a long time,” Keith glares, arms still crossed. He shifts his weight, so he’s now barricading the door frame with his stupidly broad shoulders. "This feels different."</p><p>Lance groans, pushing off the sink to where the toilet sat, flipping the lid down so he can take a seat. He slumps forward, resting his elbows on his knees, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes. Maybe Keith’s right and it should come more naturally to them by now to be gentle with each other, to lead up to sensitive subjects with tender knocks instead of blunt force. But Lance also knows that Keith is impatient. He wants answers right now.</p><p>The problem is that the answer he’s looking for isn’t something Lance is ready to share.</p><p>"Is this about Allura?"</p><p>Lance’s entire body shoots up as he balks, “What?!</p><p>"Allura? ‘Cause you broke up, and now she's kind of back with Lotor?" he offers more detail, like Keith needs to help jog Lance’s memory. As if Lance somehow blocked the whole relationship from his mind. Keith watches Lance, curiously raking his eyes over his face with sincere concern.</p><p>Lance isn't stupid. He knows a lifeline when he sees one. He knows he could go with that excuse and blame it on him needing to <em>mend his broken heart, </em>and Keith would get off his back and perhaps give Lance the space he so desperately craves until they were free from quarantine.</p><p>But that would be lying, and they don't lie to each other.</p><p>But also, why <em>wasn’t </em> Lance more upset about Allura? </p><p>She’s the most amazing woman he's ever met. For so long, Lance was sure that he was in love with Allura in a way he could never be with another person. He was ready to risk it all to be with her no matter what the universe threw at them, and he was well-aware of what the universe was capable of tossing.</p><p>After nearly two months together, Lance spent his time celebrating Drazan’s single day of peace alone at a carnival, signing a mountain of plushies to win Allura a small blue lion. When Lance returned to the ATLAS, he was met with Allura’s locked bedroom door and a gentle request to leave her alone. Unsure of what else to do, he left the lion waiting by her door.</p><p>When Allura eventually left her room, he could tell something was wrong. She shrugged off Lance’s concerns and nearly tripped over the blue lion plushie on her way to find Shiro. In her rush, she left Lance’s gift discarded in the hallway.</p><p>That’s when everything changed. Allura shared with the team that she had absorbed the rift entities from the captured Alteans, that Lotor was still alive, and to stop Honerva, they needed to rescue him from the corrupted Sincline. The rest of their missions consisted of Lance swinging between being frustrated at Allura’s reckless decisions and hurt that he was the one who cared more about their relationship. </p><p>They rescued Lotor and brought him onto the ATLAS to recover, and Lance watched as Allura sat at Lotor’s bedside, healing him with the same alchemy she used to save his life years prior. In the entirety of their three-month relationship, the only time Allura sought Lance out first was when she tearfully asked if they could talk, and Lance was ready to have his heart broken. </p><p>Now, a few weeks later, he's sitting in a bathroom with Keith Kogane, and she's barely on his mind</p><p>“It’s not about Allura,” Lance confesses, and Keith’s shoulders drop. There was a reason that Keith was one of the few people he went to with his insecurities. Lance knows that Keith wants him to be happy with himself. He knows that no matter what, he’d help Lance get there, he’d show up every single time. Including the shared bathroom during their quarantine. “I’ve had something else on my mind.”</p><p>Keith snickers, shaking his head. “Your mind’s not big enough to hold anything for this long.”</p><p>The truth is, Lance’s talk with Shiro wasn’t only triggered by Allura dumping him. Since the ATLAS launched, Keith would linger after briefings to chat with Lance or spend a little longer in the changing area so they could walk to their lions together. Somehow, just being in the same room as Keith had the power to make Lance feel better. It wasn’t until Pidge bluntly informed him that he was treating Keith like his emotional boyfriend that the puzzle pieces in Lance’s brain finally clicked into place.</p><p>His revelation rang loud and distinct, like a siren blaring in the night. It’s impossible to judge the emotions he’s felt for Keith over the years and not consider it to be genuine attraction. Especially after he planted a kiss on the poor guy during the last quarantine and never spoke about it again.</p><p>Shiro never asked what brought Lance to his realization, but instinctively he felt Shiro already knew. Hell, Shiro’s first coherent memory after crashing back on Earth was the two of them squabbling while breaking him out of that Garrison Hospital. He’s probably been watching the two of them circle each other for years, in a constant dance of will-they-won’t-they.</p><p>Lance still doesn't know how to feel about "coming out," considering being bisexual isn't <em>that </em>big of a deal, comparatively. Veronica was hardly shocked by the news, and when he told Pidge and Hunk, they shrugged it off like they assumed he was playing for both teams all along. He hasn’t told Allura yet, mostly because he’s pretty sure Alteans are more fluid than Earthlings about their interests. Even so, he’s confident when he does, she’ll be nothing but supportive.</p><p>It was all very comforting, but Keith is different. Now Keith’s an option, a possibility. That may not have been the case when they kissed before, but <em>if </em>they kissed again, it could go somewhere, and that changes the stakes. It’s one of the reasons Lance hasn’t told him yet that he’s bi.</p><p>Then he remembers something Keith said after they kissed that first time.</p><p>Lance breaks the silence, suddenly jolting to his feet. "What did you mean when you said<em> 'This isn't supposed to go like this'</em>? " </p><p>Keith is taken aback by the question, seeming baffled. It makes sense considering the complete lack of contextual clues Lance provided. His brows knit together, thoughtfully. “When did I say that?”</p><p>“After I kissed you.”</p><p>His expression shifts from confusion to embarrassment so quickly, Lance almost misses it.</p><p>"No, we’re talking about you now,” Keith argues. “You can't turn the tables by asking an irrelevant question."</p><p>"I already said this isn't about Allura," Lance keeps pressing him, far more than he’d typically allow himself to. "Now tell me  — what did you mean?"</p><p>He sees Keith’s eyes shift around the bathroom, and Lance can’t tell if he’s looking for a way out or an object to bludgeon him with for an escape. He’s so visibly flustered that it could be both. Ultimately, his temper gets the better of him.</p><p>“I’m not doing this with you,” he blows, and Lance can tell he’s starting to fray at the edges. “I don’t know why I said things months ago. Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter.”</p><p>Keith turns to leaves, nearly ripping the doorknob off when he unlocks it. He doesn’t make it further than a couple of steps as Lance’s hand grabs onto his wrist and pulls him back into the bathroom. Keith tumbles backward into Lance’s chest with an indignant noise.</p><p>“It matters to me,” Lance insists, quickly pushing Keith away just as swiftly as he’d pulled him back. The door slams shut behind them. Keith whirls around, and Lance is sure he’s ready to start throwing punches after such an awkward rough-handling. Instead, he’s met with a defeated look on Keith’s face. “Please, Keith.”</p><p>Keith inhales deeply for a moment before slumping against the doorframe and resigning himself to his fate. Then, he exhales and slides down the door until he's sitting cross-legged on the bathroom tile. He looks up at Lance expectedly, thick brows furrowed. Taking the hint, Lance drops to sit across from him on the floor.</p><p>That's how Lance knows this is probably going to be a weird story.</p><p>"When I was on the space whale, there were flashes of...<em> time</em>," Keith explains, using a much gentler tone now that they’ve finished arguing. Lance relaxes slightly and nods his head for him to continue. “And I saw... <em> stuff </em>.”</p><p>"What kind of stuff?" </p><p>"Future stuff," Keith admits, and before Lance can say anything, he holds his hand up. "I know I said I forgot everything, but some I didn't. They were out of context, and some stuff didn't happen the way I thought, but they happened."</p><p>"So, they were more like spoilers than visions?"</p><p>Keith nods. "Then Allura and Lotor mended reality, and it changed everything. Major things I saw just didn't happen."</p><p>"Like what?" Lance asks, and Keith seems uncomfortable. Lance’s chest gives a sympathetic pang, genuine regret sinking through him. He reaches over to run his hand over Keith’s knee in soothing circles. "Keith, you can tell me."</p><p>"Allura died," his voice breaks when he says her name, nearly choking on the words in his rush to get them out. "I watched it happen through the flash multiple times. I spent the last year-and-a-half thinking she was going to die and there was nothing I could do to stop it."</p><p>Lance's heart sinks to his feet. The team has always known the risks of fighting in a war that's been raging on for centuries. The only reason they could be paladins at all is that their predecessors lost their lives. Lance alone has been frantically thrown into a healing pod within an inch of his life more times than he'd like to remember. Hell, he’s been electrocuted and crashed his lion headfirst into the Earth. </p><p>Even still, he’s human and Keith’s half-human. Allura is on a completely different level. He's witnessed her hold enough power in her hands to heal a Balmera, pull Shiro’s consciousness from the astral plane and bring him back from the brink of death. The thought that there was ever a reality where Allura didn't survive seems both cosmically cruel and genuinely impossible.</p><p>"Somehow, we propelled into Honerva's mindscape without Lotor and learned that Voltron’s attack killed him in the rift,” Keith explains in a shaky voice. “By the time we were at the Source of all Realities, most realities had been warped. Honerva had given up, but Allura had to follow her through the veil to fix it. She says goodbye, and you were..."</p><p>"I was what?" Lance urges, and Keith releases a long breath. It’s melancholy and stagnant like it’s been lodged between his ribs for years. Maybe it has.</p><p>"You were still with Allura."</p><p>"...<em>oh. </em>"</p><p>"Yeah, so you kiss her and..." Keith rubs the bridge of his nose, squinting his eyes. He’s trying to keep himself from crying, and Lance lets him think he hasn’t noticed.  "That's what I saw."</p><p>The confession sits heavily in the air as if Allura’s ghost is haunting them even though she’s safe and sound in a room down the hall. He also feels relief for Lotor of all people. At least now he has a possible path to redemption. Lance may not be a fan of the guy, but he sure as hell doesn’t want him dead.</p><p>Keith’s story explains the fresh walls he built up after coming back to the team, and his constant fretting over everyone’s safety. Yet, there still wasn’t something adding up.</p><p>“If you knew all that, then why did you say <em>It isn't supposed to go like this' </em> as there was another way it could go?"</p><p>With a distressed deer-caught-in-headlights look, Keith gives himself away quickly.</p><p>"Keith," Lance urges, voice gentle. "You saw something else, didn't you?"</p><p>He swallows hard and looks away from Lance, up at the door's handle. Ironically, he's trapped, considering he’s the one who initially tried to lock them both in the bathroom. "I did."</p><p>"Was it about me?"</p><p>He nods.</p><p>"Was it us?"</p><p>He nods again.</p><p>“What did you see?"</p><p>Keith stares back at Lance, and blue meets violet like the ocean meets the night sky. There’s a blush across his face, and Lance needs to turn away, but he reaches out to rest his hand on Keith’s thigh. There’s a moment of hesitance before Keith places his hand on top, tangling their fingers. When Lance dares himself to glance back, he’s rewarded with Keith’s smile. It makes his eyes crinkled in the corners.</p><p>"It was a moment," he says, never once looking away from Lance’s wide-eyed gaze. A wave of warm affection threatens to overtake him, seeping deep into his bones. "But it's years after the war ends. We fight at your parent’s farm in Cuba, and I tell you I love you.”</p><p>Lance's heart jumps in his throat. "And what do I say?"</p><p>"I don't know because that's all I saw," Keith groans, full of righteous irritation. “Two years on that fucking whale, and I never knew if you said it back, but I had to watch Allura die at least twenty times."</p><p>“Oh my god,” Lance beams, bursting into laughter. Keith blinks, his eye twitching.</p><p>"Why are you laughing? This was awful!"</p><p>"Exactly! That <em> sucks</em>!" Lance giggles like a fool at the sheer ludicrosity of the situation. He clutches onto Keith’s thigh, nearly falling over with how hard he’s shaking with laughter. Keith lets out a few chuckles himself, before quickly breaking down into a similar messy state.</p><p>"Yeah,” Keith gasps, struggling to breathe as he clutches his chest. “It did suck!"</p><p>“That's the worst cliffhanger ever!"</p><p>“I got left hanging by a space whale!” Keith shouts back, his hand reaching out to his thigh, where Lance’s hand rests. Lance is still out of commission, uncontrollably laughing, but damn if his hand doesn’t immediately latch onto Keith’s and hold on. Lance slowly calms down enough to stop laughing, wearing a smile so full his cheeks ache as he watches Keith struggle to compose himself.</p><p>"So," Lance sighs, flushed from laughter. "In a few years, you'll fall in love with me?"</p><p>The blush that blooms across Keith's face is so uncharacteristic, and Lance has to hold back his chuckle. Keith doesn't get flustered often, but somehow Lance has managed to do it.</p><p>"I mean, things change," Keith mumbles, already turning away. He's rubbing his face, and Lance knows he's trying to erase his embarrassment somehow.</p><p>Lance raises an arched eyebrow. "Oh?"</p><p>“This is a new reality, after all,” Keith ponders, his tone playful and possibly a little flirty. "Maybe I'll fall in love with you sooner."</p><p>"Sooner?!" Lance squeaks, scrambles to his feet as Keith opens the door to leave. He follows Keith around the suite like an excitable puppy.</p><p>"This conversation is over," Keith grunts, grabbing his pajama pants and heading back into the bathroom. Lance still tries to follow him, but Keith slams the bathroom door in his face. Not that it does anything to stop Lance. </p><p>"Like how soon?” he asks the wood of the door, knowing damn well Keith can hear him. "Are we thinking days? Months? I wanna mark my calendar for when you're going to confess your undying love for me."</p><p>He hears Keith spit in the sink. "Keep pushing it, and you’ll be waiting for a while.”</p><p>Keith leaves, and Lance stops him with his arm. "Did you wash your nasty toothpaste spit from the sink?"</p><p>He rolls his eyes so dramatically, and Lance is shocked they don't get stuck there. Keith stomps back to wash the sink and leaves again for his bed. "Happy?"</p><p>"With you? Always."</p><p>"I knew you'd be like this,” Keith groans. He sounds more tired than upset, but he still fluffs his pillow so aggressively it looks borderline abusive. "This is why I didn't say anything."</p><p>Lance flops on his bed across from him, stretching long and resting his chin in his hand. "Like what?"</p><p>"Fucking annoying," Keith says with finality, shutting off the light and turning away. "Good night."</p><p>Lance smiles, climbs under his comforter, and turns on his side. Watching Keith curl up in the blankets, he can tell he’s not asleep. Knowing the idiot, he’s probably quietly freaking out for being so bold. It is different from Keith’s usual stoic exterior, but not unattractive. </p><p>After spending so much time reassuring Lance, it’s time he returned the favor.</p><p>"Keith?" he whispers, and Keith turns back around. Lance extends his hand across the gap between their beds. Keith glares over the sheets but takes hold of his hand anyway. Lance gives a gentle squeeze.</p><p>"I think I'd say I love you too."</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The rest of the quarantine nothing really changes, but sometimes Lance gets to teasingly say things like, <em> "Can you pass the future love of your life the Tabasco sauce?" </em> Or whenever Keith gets annoyed with him, he'll poke him in the side and tease, <em> "Well, this is the future love of your life, so get used to it!" </em></p><p>Eventually, Keith stops being grumpy and accepts it. He'll even throw back a few jokes like, <em> "Keep leaving your socks everywhere, and I won't confess." </em></p><p>Lance doesn't know why this quasi-confession makes him feel better. Keith said so himself that his visions have changed since their new reality emerged. Still, Lance can't ignore the chemistry that sparks between them. Not to mention how many times he’s now caught Keith staring at him when he thought he wasn't looking. He may only be recently exploring his bisexuality, but even he knows their casual touches of affection are very Not Straight. </p><p>He tells Keith that he's bi with a mouthful of popcorn while watching a movie. It’s <em> Raiders of the Lost Ark</em>, and wasn’t even a particularly exciting scene when Lance blurts, “I had a crush on Indiana Jones.”</p><p>Not surprisingly, this sudden announcement is enough to pull Keith out of the movie. “Uh, okay? Do you mean, like, it was your favorite movie or something?”</p><p>“No, I mean a <em> crush </em> crush. On Harrison Ford,” Lance clarifies. Leave it to Keith to be such a bonehead about it. The guy probably jacked-off to sword catalogs from the Space Mall. “I thought he was hot, you dope!” </p><p>“<em>Oh</em>,” he says, looking back at the movie. His brows knit together as he seriously considers the action happening on screen. “Is that your type? Fictional guys?”</p><p>Lance knows Keith’s only teasing, and he doesn’t mean anything by it. He most likely thinks Lance is kidding. Not that Lance can blame him. For the entirety of their friendship, Lance has been solely-female focused, regardless of alien species. The last time they even touched on the topic of romance was when Keith would patiently listen as Lance fretted over his relationship with Allura. </p><p>“Not just fictional,” Lance deadpans. Keith stares unblinkingly back at him like he’s still failing to see the importance behind the statement. “I like girls <em>and guys </em>.”</p><p>The look that flashes across Keith’s face signals that he’s finally got the picture. It quickly melts into a soft sincerity. “And you’re good with that?”</p><p>“Yeah, I am,” Lance nods, and it’s the truth. “Shiro helped me figure it out.”</p><p>“<em>What?” </em></p><p>“Oh my god, not like <em> that </em>!” Lance snaps, swatting Keith in the ribcage. “I spoke to him about it, you fucking pervert.”</p><p>“Excuse me for assuming Loverboy Lance would shoot his shot with the Captain of the ATLAS,” Keith snorted, holding his hands up in a truce. “Adam would’ve had your head.”</p><p>Lance makes a loud gagging noise, throwing his head back on the sofa. “I promise that I'm not going after your brother, man. Shiro’s hot, no doubt about that, but even I wouldn’t break the bro code like that.”</p><p>“Well, however you got there, I'm happy for you,” Keith’s voice is much quieter, his playful tone from before gone from the atmosphere. He pats his thigh with supportive affection. "Welcome to the queer club, Lance. Now we can go to bars together."</p><p>Lance smiles, and Keith appears to be done with the conversation as he goes back to watching the movie. Scooting back, Lance drapes himself across the couch, his feet landing in Keith’s lap. </p><p>They sit like that in comfortable silence, although Lance keeps stealing looks at Keith, taking in how the flicker of the television’s light plays off his features. He watches long enough that he completely loses track of what’s happening in the movie. </p><p>"Do you think any guys we pick up will be jealous?" Lance asks without thinking. Keith gives him a baffled look, thick brows knit together in confusion.</p><p>"Jealous of what?"</p><p>Lance feels his ears warm. "That...<em> y'know </em>."</p><p>He continues to stare blankly, obviously <em>not </em>picking up what Lance is putting down. If this conversation has taught Lance anything, it’s that subtlety is not Keith’s strong suit. "Nevermind. Forget I said anything."</p><p>"No, I now want to know," Keith says, pausing the movie with the remote. "What are these hypothetical bar hookups going to be jealous about?"</p><p>“Keith,” Lance groans, turning his face to press into the couch cushions. Maybe if he’s lucky, it’ll be enough to suffocate him, and that’ll be the final twist in this new universe. </p><p>"<em>Lance</em>," Keith presses in the way that he knows Lance can't ignore. He hates how smug he sounds, too, the bastard. Lance tries to swipe him away with a kick, but he misses and just hits air. Finally, the boiling of frustration overtakes him.</p><p>"That you're gonna confess to me!" Lance nearly shouts, and Keith looks genuinely shocked by the outburst. He groans into the upholstery of the sofa. "I hate that you made me say it out loud.”</p><p>He’s expecting some of their usual banter or an exasperated eye-roll. But Keith is staring blankly back at him like he couldn’t physically process the words Lance spoke. For a second, Lance worries he answered him in Spanish accidentally.</p><p>"You're serious right now?" Keith asks, and Lance isn't sure if he's supposed to answer or if it’s a rhetorical question. "I figured we were joking around earlier because you were ragging on me."</p><p>Lance sits up, resting on his elbows to glare at Keith across the cushions. "Why would I joke about you confessing your love for me?"</p><p>"I don’t know because it's <em> us </em>?” Keith argues like it’s the most obvious answer in the universe. The skeptical tone makes his voice sound pitchy and hysterical. Lance would find it cute if he wasn’t so offended. “That was a vision from a future that probably doesn’t exist anymore, Lance. I don’t even think we’re in the same timeline after Allura patched reality back together."</p><p>“But what if I want it to exist?"</p><p>Keith seems genuinely shellshocked. As if Lance suddenly dropped a bomb on him and Lance wasn’t just repeating the already established facts from the bomb Keith dropped on him. And who is Keith to act so shocked? He started this whole thing by having trippy space whale future visions in the first place. Sue him if he’s gotten his hopes up a little. </p><p>"I like you, Keith," Lance admits. Then makes sure to clarify because now he feels like he has to with this guy. "Like, <em> romantically</em>."</p><p>"Oh. Okay."</p><p>Lance is stunned by the response. "That's it? I tell you that I like you, and you just say, <em> okay </em>?!"</p><p>Keith shakes his head quickly. "No, sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I meant okay as in confirmed."</p><p>"So, you're <em>confirming </em>to me that I like you?" Lance’s voice is growing shrill, but he’s so pissed he doesn’t care how unhinged he sounds. “This isn’t a field mission where I need you to relay your location to me, so I don’t accidentally shoot your ear off, Keith. I’m opening my heart to you here! At least try to fake an emotion about it!”</p><p>"It’s not like that, Lance," Keith attempts, but one glance at Lance’s pissed off face has him running his hand through his hair. When the fluff of his bangs returns to his forehead, Lance can see how torn he looks. "You know that I'm not good at talking about my feelings. I struggle with this kind of stuff, and you’re just saying it so openly. It’s a lot to process."</p><p>
  <em> A lot. </em>
</p><p>The words float into Lance’s ears and sink into his chest cavity. It squirms around his ribs before sprouting claws into his heart, threatening to tear it into pieces. He’s doing it <em>again</em>, he’s coming on too strong, and it's going to push Keith away. He’s <em>too much</em>. That’s what Allura would warn him with a soft voice when Lance would so freely tell her he loved her, that he would do anything for her. Until eventually, it was clear she couldn’t give him a fraction of what he gave her. </p><p>Now the same is happening with Keith. In the span of a few days, he assumed that Keith loved him, or at least was close to it. It’s not like Lance can blame Keith. Lance doesn’t know how else to show someone he’s worth their attention other than smothering and ends up suffocating them in the process. Of course Keith would want to bolt to escape this level of crazy.</p><p>Lance feels the hot tears streaking his cheeks, his bottom lip slowly quivering as he fights against it. "Do you not like me back?"</p><p>“That’s not it,” Keith whispers, his voice shaky with emotion. He closes the space between them on the sofa, opening his arms. Lance understands the wordless invitation and leans into the embrace. Keith’s arms gently wrap around him, trying to hold him steady. It isn’t until Lance is held that he realizes he’s trembling. “You’re so important to me, Lance, it’s overwhelming. I’ve never felt this way about <em>anyone </em>before. This is brand new for me.”</p><p>Lance pressed his wet tears into the fabric of Keith’s shirt. “Am I too much? Is my crazy chasing you away?”</p><p>“Didn’t I already tell you I won’t leave again?”</p><p>“You can change your mind,” Lance murmurs. “I mean, this did kind of come out of nowhere. You’re allowed to be a little spooked.”</p><p>“I’m not spooked. If anything, I admire you,” Keith insists, burying his face in Lance’s hair. “I’m the one with the walls up, but you have so much love to give, and you just go for it with vigor.”</p><p>Lance snorts wetly. “More like with blind stupidity.”</p><p>“You said it, not me,” Keith teases. Lance wacks him softly in the chest, and he can feel the vibrations of his chuckles. There’s a warm pressure on Lance’s back, rubbing soothing circles between his shoulders.</p><p>Lance reluctantly lifts his head to look Keith in the eye. He knows he can't force Keith to fall in love with him right away and to be honest, he isn’t sure if what he felt would classify as love. Forcing Keith to do anything is a losing battle, and it isn’t fair to set him up for unrealistic expectations, especially if it made him feel pressured.</p><p>"I like you, too, Lance," Keith says, and when he takes Lance's hands to hold them between them, it makes him feel better. “For once, I don’t want to rush head-first into this and mess everything up.”</p><p>"You won’t. We can take it slow," Lance assures, shrugging his shoulders. "We did just save the universe and all."</p><p>Keith smiles, and it’s the shy one that only Lance has seen. The one that makes his eye crinkle in the corners. Full of affection, Lance can’t help but throw his arms around Keith’s neck as he sits comfortably in his lap. It’s a perfect position for Lance to stare up at him adoringly.</p><p>“Can I kiss you again?” Keith asks, his breath ghosting across Lance’s lips. Now it’s Lance who can’t stop grinning like an idiot. It’s impossible to fight against the excitement bubbling in his belly.</p><p>“Yeah,” Lance nods, leaning forward to meet him halfway. The second their lips meet, it’s both tender and messy. Keith’s mouth tastes like popcorn with a heat that sets Lance’s veins ablaze.</p><p>When he would kiss Allura, it felt like jumping in a chilly lake. It woke him up and kept him on his toes, but never felt comfortable. Kissing Keith feels like snuggling in a warm blanket that's fresh from the dryer mixed with the passion of a supernova. </p><p>Keith wraps his arms around him, and Lance melts into the warmth. It’s an electric current running through his nervous system, and Keith’s his conduit. Lance breaks away from the kiss with a wet string of saliva still connecting their lips. “This totally breaks the rules of social distancing.”</p><p>“Oh yeah, because we’re <em>real </em>rule followers,” Keith snorts before capturing Lance’s mouth again and pushing him into the soft throw pillows of the sofa.</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>The next day, the Garrison staff gives them the tests, and they're both clear. Although they did very little social distancing the night before, Lance figures what the Garrison doesn’t know won’t hurt them.</p><p>Outside the suite, he can hear everyone start to leave their rooms, rushing to talk to each other face-to-face. Lance picks up his duffle bag and waits for Keith by the doorway. He’s midway through beating a level in a game on his phone when Keith comes over. They got their uniforms back that morning after being dry cleaned and clear of any space cooties. Seeing Keith in red again is a sentimental sight.</p><p>“Did you check to make sure you got everything?” Keith asks in a tone that already knows the answer. Lance can tell that it’s more a demand than a question.</p><p>He lowers his phone, raising an eyebrow into his hairline. “Are you asking me if I’ve done a perimeter check around our quarantine prison?”</p><p>“It’s good practice to do in any room, Lance,” he urges, tugging Lance up by the sleeve of his uniform. “Do it, so you’re sure you got everything.”</p><p>“Fine, but I promise you I already got everything,” Lance throws over his shoulder as he begins going through the entire room.</p><p>Three pairs of socks and one found phone charger later, and Lance is ready to go. When he puts his forgotten items in his bag, he refuses to face Keith, knowing damn well there’s a shit-eating grin that stretches across his whole face. He finally tugs the zipper closed with a groan. “There, happy?”</p><p>"With you? Always." Keith is still smiling when he offers him his hand. Lance stares down at Keith’s outstretched hand, hesitantly reaching out to squeeze. When Keith doesn’t dodge away from the touch, he intertwines their fingers as they walk out the door. </p><p>It doesn’t take long for them to meet up with Hunk and Pidge. Lance glances down to see that Keith is still holding his hand as he calmly chats with Hunk. Pidge’s eyes shift to their interlaced hands for a total of two whole seconds before shrugging and jumping into excitedly telling him how Matt smuggled a copy of <em> Killbot Phantasm 26: Revengifiance </em>into their suite.</p><p>Not even Shiro and Adam say anything, which isn’t as strange considering they’re old and probably have better things to do than think about their love lives. Although, Shiro does give Lance a supportive shoulder squeeze before heading out to find Iverson.</p><p>The only person who comments on it is Allura. </p><p>When they finally make it past the guards of their plastic prison, Lance is almost blinded by the sunlight. The fresh air is reinvigorating and Lance hasn't breathed this deeply since they lifted off into space.</p><p>Since the suite she shared with Romelle was closer to the entrance, Allura had opted to wait for them outside. Romelle waves everyone over to where they’ve commandeered some benches by a water fountain. Coran and Lotor are so occupied debating over Altean mechanical advancements, they hardly notice their arrival.</p><p>There is, however, a familiar blue furry companion resting his head happily in Allura’s lap as she fondly rubs his ears.</p><p>“You finally get over the wolf drool, Princess?” Keith calls out, quickly gaining Kosmo’s attention. The wolf disappears with a zap before appearing mid-air to lunge enthusiastically on Keith. The size of Kosmo sends them both toppling to the ground. Luckily, Lance manages to let go of Keith’s hand fast enough to avoid getting pulled into the literal dog pile.</p><p>Allura’s laughs echo as she joins them, seemingly enjoying the view of Keith being affectionately slobbered on by the space wolf. “Looks like he’s missed you, Keith.”</p><p>When Keith manages to appease Kosmo with enough attention to stand back up, he retakes hold of Lance’s hand like it’s second nature. Allura’s eyes go wide, looking down at their hands and then up at Lance. It embarrasses him enough to make him look away, unsure of what exactly to tell her. After a few ticks of silence, Allura seems to have dropped it and joins the rest of the group in casual conversation.</p><p>It doesn’t take long for Lance’s mother to pick up on the changes in her children’s love lives and invites Keith and Acxa to spend the weekend on the farm. The gesture nearly overwhelms Acxa, who’s still trying to keep up but dangerously close to being overwhelmed by the kindness. Keith gives her a friendly pat on the back. “Don’t worry. You’ll get there.”</p><p>They’ve just about finished packing Veronica’s truck in the loading bay when in his peripheral vision, Lance spots Allura walking over. </p><p>“Hey Princess,” Keith greets, leaning against the open trunk door. “Are you sure you’re alright at the Garrison? I’m sure Lance’s parents wouldn’t mind you staying at the farm with the rest of us.”</p><p>She smiles warmly. “It’s alright, Shiro managed to secure a few flats for us to stay for the time being. Besides, I want to stay close by as there are readings that indicate there’s a possibility that Altea and Daibazaal could have been restored after we created the singular reality.”</p><p>“Allura, that’s amazing,” Lance beams, genuinely excited for her. He knows better than anyone how desperately she missed her home planet and mourned her people. If there’s even a slight chance for Allura to get a second chance at happiness, Lance would gladly save the universe a hundred times over. “I know you probably don’t wanna jinx it, but if anyone could restore a whole galaxy, it’s you.”</p><p>“Thank you, Lance,” she says, before glancing to the side. “Do you have a moment to chat?”</p><p>Lance blinks slowly, processing the request and situation. “Uh, sure.”</p><p>He feels a hand on his back and turns to see Keith’s easy smile. “I’ll go get more bags.”</p><p>Lance stands there nodding dumbly in agreement when a wave of panic strikes him. Is he supposed to kiss Keith goodbye? It seems like the logical thing to do, considering recent developments, but wouldn’t that be cruel in front of Allura? He doesn’t want her to think he’s rubbing his new relationship in her face.</p><p>Fortunately, Keith doesn’t give him the chance to figure it out, instead opting to squeeze Lance’s shoulder affectionately before waving goodbye to Allura. The tension seeps out of Lance’s shoulders like water, suddenly thankful that Keith isn’t the PDA type.</p><p>Once Keith is out of earshot, Lance turns back to Allura. “Seems we’re always having emotional conversations in loading bays, huh?”</p><p>Allura realizes what he’s referencing and shoots him a smile. “Oh stars, I hadn’t even noticed. I promise I’m not trying to make that our <em> thing </em>.”</p><p>The joke itself isn’t that funny, but hearing her make it is enough to pull a genuine laugh from him. The mirth in her face suits her far better than the despair she carried while on the ATLAS. </p><p>“Lance—”</p><p>“Allura—”</p><p>Their words get caught up in a messy jumble, and both of them slip back into silence before Lance waves her on. “It’s okay,” he urges. “What did you wanna talk about?”</p><p>“To be honest, I wanted to apologize to you properly.”</p><p>“For what?” Lance asks, audibly confused. Allura tugs on the edge of her sleeve, her fingers playing over the pink fabric of her uniform. It isn’t often that she shows her tells.</p><p>“When we were together, I wasn’t always the best partner to you,” she admits. “There were ugly moments where I knowingly ignored or disregarded your feelings. I was far from easy to love, to say the least, and I didn’t do much to help you understand.”</p><p>“Oh no, Allura,” Lance manages in the softest voice he could muster. “You literally had the universe’s problems resting on your shoulders. I got that. I could never hold it against you.”</p><p>“It still wasn’t fair to you,” she presses, reaching up to cradle Lance’s cheek in her hand as he watches her try to deal with the waves of heavy emotions. “You gave me your whole heart from the start, and I simply held it in my hands, slowly breaking it. No matter how alone or lost I felt, you didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry, Lance.”</p><p>“I guess I thought I could figure you out and be what you needed, like a shoulder to cry on or a hand to hold,” Lance says, leaning into her touch. “You’re right that it’s hard to love someone you couldn’t understand.”</p><p>“If it makes any difference, I felt the same way about you sometimes,” she admits with a shrug. “Asides from your oddly shaped ears, you humans certainly wear your hearts on your sleeves. It was nice never to doubt how much you cared for me.”</p><p>“I’ll always care about you,” Lance promises, pressing their foreheads together with a grin. He can tell she’s about to cry and hopes his playful tone is enough to ease her nerves. “There are only five other people in this entire reality who get the whole paladin thing. I’m not losing my number one girl just because we were a disaster as a couple.”</p><p>While it’s not enough to stop the tears, Allura does duck into his chest and squeezes his midsection in a tight hug. “Thank you, Lance.”</p><p>Lance gently wraps his arms around her, holding her close. “Of course, Princess.” </p><p>When she pulls away from him, she wipes a few remaining stray tears from her cheeks. “I also wanted to give you something.”</p><p>Curiously, Lance tilts his head to the side as she crouches down to search inside a canvas bag. “I’m not up to speed on how Altean apologies work, but I hope you didn’t go out of your way to buy me anything fancy. Coran would croak if he knew you were hanging out on some Swap Moon.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, it’s not from any Swap Moon,” Allura assures, standing back up. She pushes a soft toy into his hands, closing his fingers around it. He looks down and instantly recognizes it as the blue lion plushie he won for her. “It certainly isn’t something sparkly, but I'm sure you worked hard to win it and want it back.”</p><p>Lance scans the tiny blue lion and shakes his head, smiling softly. Smoothly, he pushes it back into her hands. “Keep it.”</p><p>Allura looks visibly taken aback like she hadn’t expected this outcome. “Are you sure?”</p><p>“Yeah,” he shrugs. “I’d much rather the Blue Lion be our thing than heavy conversations in the loading bay.”</p><p>“Heh...I’d like that, too,” Allura cradles the toy in her arms, and her smile morphs into a wicked grin. “I assumed that you’d want to give this to Keith now, but I suppose the <em> Red </em> Lion is more your thing.”</p><p>Lance leans away quickly, his cheeks darkening into a blush at being called out. When Allura leans closer into his personal space mischievously, Lance bends as far back as he can without losing balance. He quickly glances over his shoulder, looking anywhere but at Allura.</p><p>“Um, yeah, I guess it could be — ah, maybe?” Lance stammers, instantly feeling the heat rise in his collar.  She lifts a perfectly arched brow, suiting him with an unimpressed stare for even attempting to dodge her. Nervously he taps his fingers together. “I’m not sure Keith is the kind of guy who has a thing.”</p><p>“Well, he certainly has a thing for <em>you</em>,” Allura reminds him in a sing-song voice, placing the toy back in her bag gingerly before swinging it back over her shoulder. “And you are neither a knife nor a space wolf.”</p><p>Lance nervously moves his hand to the back of his neck, shrinking a bit to hide how warm his face flushes with embarrassment hopefully. “Are you okay with Keith and me.<em> ..” </em></p><p>“Sitting in a tree?” She finishes for him plainly, hand on her hip.</p><p>“Uh, yeah. Sure,” Lance resigns, scratching the wisps at the back of his head “It’s not weird, right?”</p><p>Allura stares back at him thoughtfully, her nose scrunching in the way it always did when he asked a question she found to be irrational. “Of course not. If anything, I may have had an inkling that you two had feelings deeper than friendship brewing for some time now. It’s why I advised Keith not to leave Voltron to join Kolivan and the Blade of Marmora.”</p><p>“But that was years ago,” Lance blurts dumbly. “We didn’t figure out our deal until last night.”</p><p>Allura shrugs, folding her hands behind her back, ever the diplomat. “One of the reasons I didn’t return your confession that first night was because deep down, I knew that wasn’t meant for me. “</p><p>“How did you know?”</p><p>“Well, for one thing, you chose to save Keith over me during Bob’s game show,” she quips in a tone that’s purely teasing. She presses her hand over her heart, overdramatically. “I'm quite fortunate Hunk had my back otherwise who knows where I’d be right now. Most likely fed to that awful Snick creature.”</p><p>“I’m sure you could’ve handed yourself,” Lance can’t help but wince between his laughter when Allua smacks him lightly on the arm. “Alright, that’s fair. Looking back, it was probably pretty obvious.”</p><p>“He chose you, too,” she says sincerely, not an ounce of taunting in her tone. Over her shoulder, she spots Keith heading back towards them, chatting with Veronica as they bring up the last of her luggage. “It seems that we both weren’t what the other needed in the end, at least in the romance department.”</p><p>“Seems so.” Lance's chest blooms with affection at the sight of Keith in his red uniform and feels a tug on his arm. He glances down to see that Allura has taken hold of his hand. </p><p>“I’ll always love you, Lance,” she smiles brightly, more than Lance has ever seen. The grin makes her marks crinkle at the corner of her eyes, and for the first time since he’s met her, Allura looks genuinely, unabashedly happy. Lance will never know for sure what kind of cosmic power flipped the script on the vision Keith saw, but he’s thankful.</p><p>He squeezes her hand tight. “I’ll love you too, Allura.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Lance’s relationship with Keith lifts off with ease he never thought possible. He never doubts their relationship, as Keith never stops reminding Lance how much he cares about him. While Keith isn’t the outlandish romantic type (that’s Lance’s department, thank you very much) in private, he freely opens himself up to affection. It’s not unusual for Lance to be running late for a meeting with Shiro at the Garrison because Keith had pulled him back to bed, covering his face with kisses and whispering sweet nothings until they're both passionately tangled between the sheets.</p><p>It takes three months for the Garrison to confirm the existence of Altea and Daibazaal, and it quickly becomes apparent that Allura would be leaving Earth permanently. Although it’s a joyous occasion, it’s the first time since losing the castleship that their team wouldn’t be in the same place anymore. The tiny found-family they’ve created out of hope and cosmic dust is finally leaving the nest.</p><p>It’s a bright sunny day when they meet Allura and Lotor at the Garrison loading docks. Behind them stands the Blue Lion, leaning forward to allow Coran, Romelle, and Acxa to pack their belongings. </p><p>“Is Blue gonna be big enough to fit all five of them?” Lance asks, and Keith shrugs from his side.</p><p>“She was big enough to get the five of <em> us </em> to space.”</p><p>Shiro notices two generals are missing and turns to Lotor. “What happened to Ezor and Zethrid?”</p><p>“After the Garrison’s medical team cleared them, they wasted no time leaving the planet,” he explains with a hint of fondness in his voice, the glimmer of his newly exposed Altean marks high on his cheeks. “Based on what Zethrid told me, she was planning to propose to Ezor. I’m sure they’re out celebrating doing what they enjoy best.”</p><p>Lance sends him a skeptical look. “I hope it’s not taking over warships and becoming interstellar space pirates.”  </p><p>He shrugs seemingly apathetic to the whole situation, and Lance decides not to press the topic any further. Lotor looks up at the Blue Lion. “To be honest, I wouldn’t want all of my best generals tied up accompanying me to Daibazaal. It’s intimidating to step foot on a home planet you’ve never seen before, and it’s nice to know allies are traversing about the universe.” </p><p>“Well, you got ‘em here too, buddy,” Lance assures with a friendly pat on the back. Lotor’s a lot taller than him, so he needs to get on his tip-toes for the gesture to work. They all couldn’t have a floating arm like Shiro.</p><p>“Thank you, Lance,” Lotor says, meeting his gaze with a warm and genuine smile. He turns his attention to Keith, who’s been eerily silent during the conversation. “I’ve been in contact with Kolivan and your mother to informed them that all Blade of Marmora members are free to make Daibazaal their home if they see fit. I hope that they can help me restructure the planet’s government to be…”</p><p>“Less of a tyrannical dictatorship that held power for centuries through violent occupation and overconsumption of quintessence to the point that the entire ecosystem of the universe threatened to implode on itself?” Keith offers, arms crossed over his chest. Behind him, Adam flicks him on the ear for his sass, and Keith tries to swat him away like a fly.</p><p>Lotor appears unperturbed. “Exactly, so you can see we certainly have our work cut out for us.”</p><p>“You know the Galaxy Alliance is always here for support,” Shiro assures, extending his hand out for Lotor to take. Still learning Earth customs, it takes the other man a moment before he gets the memo and shakes his hand.</p><p>“And Daibazaal for Earth,” Lotor assures, turning back to Keith. “That includes you, Keith.”</p><p>Keith looks back up at the sound of his name, and Lotor continues. “Anyone with even a drop of Galra blood is free to call the planet home. My other hope is to help ease the Galra diaspora, as much as I can.”</p><p>“Lotor, I…I don’t know what to say,” Keith stammers, and Lance can tell he’s genuinely overwhelmed by the promise. When Lotor extends a comforting hand to Keith's shoulder, Lance can’t help but feel a knot settle in the pit of his stomach. </p><p>He knows it's unfair to expect Keith to ignore an entire side of himself that he spent his life trying to discover. Still, the idea of his boyfriend moving halfway across the galaxy to hang out at some purple space furry family reunion is unsettling.</p><p>Lance is pulled from the ravine of his thoughts when Coran jogs to join them from where the Blue Lion is parked. Romelle and Acxa right on his heels.</p><p>“We’re all packed and ready to ship out,” he announces, twirling his mustache boastfully. “It looked a bit dicey there for a moment, but they don’t call me Coran, Coran The Moving Man for nothing."</p><p>"Nobody calls you that," Pidge deadpans, and Coran seems genuinely hurt by the comment before Pidge begins to sniffle. "But maybe the people on Altea will start."</p><p>Coran's face scrunches up almost comically. "Aw, Number Five."</p><p>“No, no, <em> no! </em>I said I wasn’t going to cry,” Pidge moans, pushing up her glasses. She rubs her eyes vigorously and points across from where they’re standing. “Hunk’s been crying since before we got here. He and Allura have been at it for the last twenty minutes.”</p><p>She isn’t wrong. Besides them on the dock, Allura and Hunk hold each other, their joint blubbering borderline incoherent. </p><p>“I promise to send you all the best milkshake recipes I know,” Hunk sobs as Allura nods. “And I’ll make sure the first gig Shay and me cater is on Altea.”</p><p>“And I demand nightly gossip sessions,” she orders, holding up the space mice in her palms. They’re just as emotionally distraught as she is, most likely picking up on Allura’s sadness. “For the mice and me.”</p><p>Hunk leans over, extending an index finger to shake each mouse’s paw individually. “Goodbye Platt, goodbye Chulatt, goodbye Plachu, and goodbye Chuchule. It’s been an honor flying with you, boys.” </p><p>“Alright, Hunk, I think it’s time to share Allura with the rest of us,” Shiro comforts, kindly leading Hunk away from Allura as Keith pats his back, consolingly.</p><p>“Okay, yeah, that’s fair,” he snivels, and Keith hands him a tissue to blow his nose. Hunk accepts it readily. “Thanks, Still-Galra-Even-On-Earth Keith.”</p><p>Keith rolls his eyes so hard Lance is impressed they don’t fall out of his face.</p><p>Shiro shakes his head in familiar exasperation before turning to Allura, expanding his arms to their full-wingspan to pull her into a bear hug. When she embraces him, his mechanical arm secures her tight against his chest. “You’ll do great out there, Princess. There’s not a doubt in my mind you’ll lead Altea with tremendous grace and compassion.”</p><p>Allura sniffs, pulling away to smile up at her dearest friend. “Thank you, Shiro.”</p><p>“You never have to thank me for anything,” he promises, giving her another squeeze before letting her go hug Keith. When Allura jumps from one bro-gane to the other, she hangs off Keith’s neck and Pidge leaps on his back to join the hug, nearly sending the three of them tumbling backward into the dirt.</p><p>“Lance?” </p><p>At the sound of his name, Lance spins around to see Acxa has managed to sneak up behind him. He jumps with a surprised yelp. “Woah, Acxa! How long have you been standing there?”</p><p>She cocks a thin eyebrow. “The entire time.”</p><p>“Uh...guess I didn’t hear you walk up.”</p><p>“That’s because I'm a good spy,” she says, before reaching into her pouch and handing Lance a light blue envelope. “Please transport this letter to your sister at your earliest convenience.”</p><p>“Oh? Which sister?” Lance teases, holding up the envelope with a shit-eating grin. “I do have two, y’know.”</p><p>Acxa’s eyes narrow into slits, but the blush blooming across her cheeks is clear. “I believe you know precisely which sister.”</p><p>“<em>Maybe</em>,” he hums, raising the envelope against the sunlight to see if anything is visible. “Might still have to open it to make sure, though. Don’t want this <em> love letter </em> getting into the wrong hands.”</p><p>“That envelope is sealed with Rotfang venom and will poison anyone that breaks it who isn’t the intended. The venom will boil you from the inside out. Slowly. There is no known antidote.”</p><p>Lance frowns as the woman stares him down with a straight-faced expression. “Fine, I’ll give it to Veronica. Geez, you didn’t need to get all murdery about it.”</p><p>Acxa nods in approval. “Thank you.”</p><p>Lance waves her off, shimming his backpack off his shoulder to keep the letter safe. When Lance opens the zipper, he sees the manilla clasp envelope he’s packed that morning. Swallowing nervously, he checks to make sure Keith doesn’t notice before securing the bag closed. Between those two envelopes, he’s carrying some precious cargo today.</p><p>By the time Allura makes her way to Lance, her eyes are red-rimmed and puffy from crying. Even so, she still manages to look radiant in the summer sun, the blues of her dress contrasting with the clear sky above. She’s so emotionally exhausted she all but flops towards him. Lance opens his arms to catch her, just as he did when she first fell out of the healing pod. </p><p>“Saved the best for last, huh?” he quips when she lifts her chin to face him. “I’m sure Hunk packed some Visine and extra water bottles if you’re dehydrated from all the crying.” </p><p>“If I so much as glance at Hunk one more time, I may never stop crying,” she assures him, stubbornly rubbing her eyes with the heels of her palms. “It’s like the Drenqruian Fountain is pouring from my eyes. What is happening? This isn’t like me, at all.”</p><p>“Aw, you really do love us,” he cheers as she holds onto him. “To think at one point, you nearly blew us up testing the castle’s defense missiles.”</p><p>“If I succeeded, I wouldn’t have to deal with this now, so who truly won here?” </p><p>He holds Allura close, allowing her to exist in a moment of simplicity. They both stare at the Blue Lion as Allura rests her head against his chest. His heart is a steady rhythm against her tapered ear, a stark contrast from the nervous beating he desperately showed her during their first date. The memory almost makes him cringe. He was so clueless.</p><p>“Did Lotor share the news about Keith being welcomed on Daibazaal?” Allura asks, and he’s known Allura long enough to see the question is rhetorical. She already knows the answer.</p><p>Lance can feel that his smile isn’t convincing, but still makes a valiant attempt. “Yeah, that’s <em> great</em>.”</p><p>“Your lying is nearly as bad as your memory, Lance,” she scolds, pulling back a bit to glance over her shoulder to spot where Keith and Lotor are now talking. “Does the notion of losing him to Daibazaal worry you?”</p><p>He lets out a deflated exhale. “I guess I’ll always be a little scared he may go somewhere I can’t follow.”</p><p>“As the architect of this new reality, I can guarantee there isn’t a location in existence where that is the case,” Allura says, fully untangling herself from his arms. "I can also say from experience that you're both rather insufferable without the other.”</p><p>“Thanks for the pep talk, your royal highness,” Lance says, and he means it. It’s almost ironic how much better she knows him now that they aren’t dating. He must have shown as much in his expression, given the soft smile Allura offers in response.</p><p>“Soon, it’ll be<em> your majesty </em>.”</p><p>“I’ll make sure to update your contact info on my phone when you’re coronated,” he promises, tone playful and light. “Something tells me you're destined for greatness.”</p><p>“Lance, if you make me cry again, I quiznaking swear—” she attempts to threaten, but it’s completely toothless. The dam breaks, and the tears flow freely down her face. “Oh, <em> fuck! </em>”</p><p>Hearing Allura use an Earth swear is enough to send Lance into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. He grins wickedly, pulling her into a lazy side-hug and calls over the top of her head, “Hey, Lotor! Come get your girl before she rethinks this whole ruling a planet thing!”</p><p>In the end, Keith is right, and the Blue Lion can hold everyone safely. Once Allura is behind the controls, Blue lets out a familiar roar before lunging upwards into the sky. On the ground below, Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, Lance, and Keith wave goodbye and watch as Blue soars through the wormhole, projecting them to the far side of the universe.</p><p>Lance’s hand falls to his side, and within ticks, he feels the familiar sensation of Keith’s gloved fingers lacing between his own. He glances at Keith, their eyes locking softly.</p><p>“Wanna head back to the Garrison with Shiro and Adam?” Keith offers, motioning to the group already making their ways over to the campus. Lance remembers the envelope in his backpack.</p><p>“I have another idea,” Lance flashes a toothy smile, leaning closer and fluttering his eyelashes coyly. “You still know how to break into the garage where they keep the racers?”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Their bikes lift-off cliffs, the burgundy sands of the desert turning almost orange as the sun begins to set. Over the sounds of the engine, he can hear Keith yell from behind him.</p><p>“Where are we going?”</p><p>“You’ll see!”</p><p>On Lance’s wrists sits the screen of a GPS map from his watch. A nifty upgrade courtesy of Team Punk. The red dot of their destination growing closer as they fly along the roads. Over his shoulder, Lance signals for Keith to follow him off-path, and they climb up the back of a steep hill. He can tell from the way Keith is revving his engine that he thinks Lance is setting them up for another cliff jump. </p><p>“Make a sharp left!” Lance calls over his shoulder, signaling with his hand. </p><p>“But there’s nothing over there!”</p><p>“Our destination is over there!”</p><p>“Are you serious?” Keith is annoyed by being left in the dark. He plays along just long enough to follow Lance to the open plot of land. When he cuts his engine, he leans against the steering wheel of his racer for Keith to pull up beside him.</p><p>Lance gives a big grin, trying to seem more confident than he felt. “Beat ya.”</p><p>Keith cuts the engine, pulling down his goggles and shaking his hair free from the handkerchief tied across his face. There’s still some dust staining the bridge of his nose, and it’s so cute that Lance has to restrain himself from leaning over to kiss it.</p><p>“I couldn’t exactly overtake you when you’re directing me,” Keith says, kicking his stand for his bike and making his way to where Lance has lifted himself off his racer. “Where are we anyway?”</p><p>Lance settles his hands in his pocket, slightly surprised when Keith doesn’t immediately pick up on the spot. Not that he can blame him. After Sendak’s invasion, everything in the desert on the Garrison outskirt had been leveled to nothing but dust. To him, it probably looks like Lance brought him out to the middle of nowhere.</p><p>He looks over at Keith, quirking an eyebrow. “You don’t recognize it?”</p><p>“I mean, we’re in the middle of the desert,” Keith notes, a pitch of irritation in his voice as he looks around. “It sort of reminds me of where the house I grew up was.”</p><p>Lance has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from over-smiling, ruining the surprise before Keith realizes.</p><p>“Like, there was a cliff just like that one,” he points out to the distance, and Lance can tell the exact moment when it starts to dawn on him. “And a small cave underneath...just like…there.”</p><p>Keith spins around, facing Lance with a look of pure astonishment across his face. It’s too much, and Lance can’t hold back anymore, and the grin breaks through. Keith stares at him for only a moment longer before smiling.</p><p>“Is this the plot of land where my Pop’s house was?” he asks, voice shaky. Lance nods, feeling like the sheer amount of emotion in his chest could double him over at any moment. The need to close the space between them as fast as possible nearly overwhelms him.</p><p>“Suprise!” Lance cheers happily, gesturing to the dirt in front of them. “I know you were upset after the invasion and couldn’t find where that little shack was. It took me forever, but Veronica and Adam helped me locate the paperwork your dad filled out years ago when he got the permit for the land from the Garrison.”</p><p>Keith’s eyes open as wide as saucers when Lance unzips his backpack, pulling out the thick manilla envelope from inside. “I pulled some strings with Shiro and managed to have the paperwork fast-tracked for you.”</p><p>“Is this…” his voice breaks, completely unable to form a coherent sentence. Lance hasn’t seen him this emotional since Shiro woke up from the healing pod after the whole clone fiasco. </p><p>“Yeah,” Lance swallows the butterflies down into his stomach, handing over the envelope gingerly. “The deed to the land. It’s all yours, Keith.”</p><p>He watches as Keith runs his hand over the front of the folder, staring almost blankly at the documents in his possession. Physical, notarized proof that Keith owns a place for himself on Earth. Still, the charged atmosphere sends Lance off on a tangent, worriedly rambling along to fill the silence.</p><p>“The Garrison dorms are too cramped for Kosmo, so I figured he could use the land to run around. There isn’t anything here, obviously, cause Sendak’s guys blew it up. But that’s okay because between my brothers and me we can help build a house. Colleen Holt said the land is terraformed to - <em> OOMF! </em>”</p><p>The wind gets knocked out of Lance’s lungs when he falls backward from the force of Keith tackling into the dirt in a hug. He buries his face into Lance’s shirt, but Lance can already feel the wet stain of tears seeping through the fabric. “So, do you like it?”</p><p>“Of course, you idiot!” Keith yells, raising his tear-stained face to Lance, where he’s resting on his chest. “I can’t believe you went to all that trouble just to give me a plot of dirt. You’re amazing, do you know that?”</p><p>“I never doubt it when I’m with you,” Lance answers honestly, his nose scrunching up with how cheesy it must’ve sounded.</p><p>"Nobody has ever done anything like this for me before," Keith says, as if still trying to process everything. "It's a lot, and you just made it happen. Thank you."</p><p>“No matter where you go, I’ll follow you, Keith," Lance smiles, tucking a wayward lock of hair behind Keith's ear. "I don’t care if it’s a rundown shack in the middle of the desert or somewhere on Daibazaal. No matter where it is, as long as we're together, I’m home.”</p><p>“God, Lance, I love you so much,” Keith exhales shakily, reaching up to cup Lance’s jaw and cover his face with kisses. Lance leans into the touch, breathlessly sighing until he’s captured Keith’s lips with his own. </p><p>Then it hits him.</p><p>“Three months, two weeks and four days,” Lance blurts, breaking the kiss. He can tell that he’s thrown Keith for a loop. “That’s how long it took you to confess your love for me.”</p><p>“Oh my god, you’re so annoying. I take it back, I actually hate your guts," Keith groans, and Lance can’t hold back his giggles. He hugs him so tight against his chest, Keith couldn't leave if he wanted to.</p><p>"Nah-uh! You said it, no takebacks!"</p><p>“You proud of yourself?"</p><p>“Considering at this point in my last relationship, I got dumped for a tragically misunderstood Galra Emperor? I really am.” </p><p>Keith pecks a kiss on his chin. “I don't have any plans to leave you for a tragically misunderstood Galra Emperor, so we should be fine.”</p><p>Lance laughs and pushes Keith’s hair back from his face. It's a losing battle against the physics only Keith's hair follows, but still has his heart hammering in his chest. Neither of them makes an effort to move off the ground.</p><p>“Keith?” Lance whispers, voice heavy with emotion. Keith adjusts himself against Lance’s chest so he can lift himself above him.</p><p>“Hmm?” </p><p>He stares up at him, at the warmth so bright in his eyes and the fondness in his smile. “I love you, too.”</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Two years later, they visit Lance's family for Sunday dinner. Between splitting their time between their apartment on Daibazaal and their house on Earth, it's usually a much-welcomed change of pace. Unfortunately, this time, Keith has been distant since the moment they walked through the door.</p><p>The entire night, Lance frets over Keith and tries to figure out what’s going on. He has his guesses — Lance’s new full-time position as an instructor at the Garrison conflicting with the new direction Keith has wanted to take the Blade of Marmora as a humanitarian group. Until tonight, he’s never considered their careers to be something they couldn’t figure out together.</p><p>When Lance tries to bring it up to Keith while they’re washing dishes, his boyfriend looks at him like he’s sprouted another head.</p><p>“Why are you getting so upset about the meeting Acxa and I have with Kolivan?” Keith demands, ripping off his rubber gloves and throwing them in the sink. “He’s stationed on Daibazaal, Lance. I can’t <em>not</em> go to space.”</p><p>“I’m not upset, you’re upset,” Lance urges, following Keith out of the kitchen through to the mudroom. “If there’s something wrong, I would rather talk about it than you flying off to avoid having a conversation with me.”</p><p>Keith shoves his boots on so quickly, he nearly puts them on the wrong feet. “I’ve been trying to pull you aside all night to ask you something, but you keep blowing me off. Maybe there <em>was</em> something I wanted to talk about without an audience for once!"</p><p>“What's the question that you need to ask me that you can't do here? Do you want to move to Daibazaal full-time?”</p><p>“No, Lance.”</p><p>“Then what is it?”</p><p>Keith stomps out the door, and Lance follows him down the porch steps. In the mailbox, he recognizes the invite for Veronica to Allura and Lotor’s wedding. They have an identical one opened on their kitchen table on Earth.</p><p>Their bickering quickly escalates into something more serious, and Lance is fighting not to cry in the middle of his mother’s garden. "I don't want to be the reason you're unhappy, Keith."</p><p>Defeatedly, Keith’s shoulders slump, and he stares at Lance. He quickly takes four big steps across the grass to grab hold of both of Lance’s hands. “Lance, nobody makes me happier than you. I love you more than anything."</p><p>And then it hits them where they are.</p><p>Or, more accurately, <em>when</em> they are.</p><p>This is the vision.</p><p>"Oh god," Lance gasps, tears freely flowing as he grabs onto him, as if he may slip away. The fabric of his jacket rough against his fingers. "Keith, I love you. I love you with my whole heart."</p><p>“I know,” Keith whispers, an urgency in his voice like he’s apologizing. He pulls Lance close, holding him against his chest and kissing his temple. Puffs of his shaky breaths visible between them in the night air. “I know, Lance.”</p><p>Lance is terrified of this moment. He doesn't know why it was a vision - is something terrible about to happen? Then Keith pulls away from him to get down on one knee. Lance is astounded when he pulls out a small box from his jacket pocket.</p><p>Keith’s proposing.</p><p>The vision from the space whale was a proposal.</p><p>Before Keith can even get a word out, Lance interrupts him, "Yes!"</p><p>"Lance, I didn't even start yet," Keith argues, but even he can't hide his nervous giddiness. "You can't just skip to the end."</p><p>"You already know my answer. It's like a spoiler."</p><p>"This is literally the last thing we should be spoiling."</p><p>"Sorry, I'll wait for you to say nice things about me," Lance assures, but he's already a snotty mess. He's an ugly crier, and wonders if that was also in the vision.  </p><p>Keith beams, looking up at him adoringly. "I can't believe we're here."</p><p>"I can," Lance nods, reaching out for where Keith is still kneeling in front of him. "If we could survive two quarantines together, I think the rest of our lives is a no brainer."</p><p>"Lance McClain, will you marry me and be quarantined buddies forever?"</p><p>"Yes, you dummy, now get up here and kiss me!"</p><p>Keith pushes himself up and kisses him with enough force to send Lance tilting backward. It doesn't matter because Keith manages to secure them, and Lance holds his face closer. Keith leans back first, looking Lance with an expression that Lance can't identify through his tears. Then he edges forward, and Lance thinks it's for another kiss. Keith passes his lips entirely, and smiles against his ear. </p><p>"Told you the visions were out of context."</p><p>“I don't need a space whale vision to see you still haven't put that ring on me,” Lance tearfully laughs when Keith slips the ring on his finger. Before he can mention anything else about visions or space whales, Lance shuts him up with another kiss.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And that's all folks!</p><p>I wish I had a better reason for why Part 2 is longer other than, "I'm still really upset about Allura and I can't stop making her and Lance friendly exs." Then I started writing everyone's goodbyes and it was like, "Well, Hunk can't NOT say goodbye to all the mice, right?" I doubt the additional words bother anyone.</p><p>In this chapter, I also learned how to add EMOJIS to fics. It's game-changer, now that I don't need to use :-) it's over for you.</p><p>Anyway, leave me nice comments because nobody has any excuse during these trying times. If you want to chat outside of Ao3 comments, follow me on Twitter: @Astro_Latte and Tumblr: astrolatte.tumblr.com</p>
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